# Divine Intervention Drum Setup: Paul Bostaph's Slayer Debut (1994)

> Divine Intervention (1994) is Paul Bostaph's first album with Slayer, recorded after replacing Dave Lombardo. Complete gear breakdown of the Tama Artstar II kit, Paiste RUDE cymbals, and the Toby Wright/Rick Rubin production that gave Slayer its highest chart debut to that point.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** Paul Bostaph (Slayer's drummer 1992-2001, 2013-2019, and 2024 reunion)
**Band / Album:** Slayer — *Divine Intervention* (1994)
**Genre:** Thrash Metal
**Label:** American Recordings
**Producer:** Toby Wright (Rick Rubin, executive producer)
**Studio:** Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles / Sound City, Van Nuys, CA

## Overview

When Dave Lombardo left Slayer in 1992 following the touring cycle for Seasons in the Abyss, the band faced a question it had never had to answer before: who could sit behind the kit for a band whose identity had been built around one of thrash metal's most influential drummers? Paul Bostaph — who had just quit Forbidden, the Bay Area thrash band he co-founded — got a call about auditioning for Slayer the very next day. He got the job, and Divine Intervention, released September 27, 1994, is the album where he proved he belonged.

Divine Intervention is Slayer's sixth studio album and Bostaph's first recorded performance with the band. It debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 — Slayer's highest chart position up to that point, a significant jump from Seasons in the Abyss's #40 peak four years earlier — and was certified Gold.

Toby Wright engineered, mixed, and co-produced the sessions, tracked at Ocean Way Recording and Sound City Studios in Los Angeles between March and June 1994, with Rick Rubin serving as executive producer for his fourth consecutive Slayer record. Bostaph's gear marked a clean break from what Lombardo had used on Seasons in the Abyss: the kit reverted from Lombardo's Pearl Masters Custom back to Tama, and the cymbals moved from Lombardo's Zildjian A/K setup to Paiste RUDE — Bostaph had become a Paiste artist himself in December 1992, and this album is where the Paiste relationship that would define nearly his entire career began.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Tama Artstar II (Piano Black) — 22"x18" bass drums (x2), 10"x8" and 12"x9" rack toms, 14"x14" and 16"x16" floor toms
- **Snare:** Tama Artstar Steel Snare, 14"x6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Paiste RUDE — 14" Hi-Hats, 17" and 19" Wild Crashes, 20" Ride, 18" China
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Tama Iron Cobra (x2), Tama Titan Hi-Hat Stand, Tama First Chair Throne, Vater Power 5B sticks
- **Heads:** Remo Powerstroke 3 (kick batter), Remo Emperor Clear (toms), Remo Emperor Coated (snare batter)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium-high tension for maximum cut and projection

### The Debut Kit: Tama Artstar II

For his first Slayer studio session, Paul Bostaph recorded on a Tama Artstar II — the same birch-shell series Slayer had used through the Reign in Blood and South of Heaven era before Lombardo's switch to Pearl Masters Custom on Seasons in the Abyss. Bringing the kit back to Tama was as much practical as stylistic: the punchy, focused birch tone was already proven in Slayer's catalog, giving Bostaph a known quantity while he adjusted to the band's process. The double 22x18 bass drum configuration kept the twin-kick setup that has defined every Slayer album since the band's earliest records.

### Paiste RUDE: A New Drummer's Cymbal Choice Begins

Bostaph became a Paiste artist himself in December 1992, and the RUDE series he brought to Divine Intervention replaced the Zildjian A and K series cymbals Lombardo had used on Seasons in the Abyss four years earlier. This is the album where Paiste became Bostaph's cymbal constant — a relationship that would follow him through most of his career, with only Diabolus in Musica's Zildjian A Custom setup and Repentless's Sabian AAX line ever breaking the pattern.

### Tama Iron Cobra: Same Pedal Family, Now in Full Production

Lombardo had tested early Iron Cobra prototypes on Reign in Blood and South of Heaven before switching to DW 5002 chain-drive pedals for Seasons in the Abyss. Bostaph's arrival brought the pedal choice back to Tama for Divine Intervention — by 1994 the Iron Cobra was in full commercial production and quickly becoming the standard pedal for thrash and extreme metal drummers.

## Key Facts

- Released September 27, 1994 — Paul Bostaph's first studio album with Slayer, replacing Dave Lombardo
- Debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 — Slayer's highest US chart position at the time; certified Gold
- Recorded at Ocean Way Recording and Sound City Studios, Los Angeles, March-June 1994
- Toby Wright engineered/produced; Rick Rubin served as executive producer for his fourth straight Slayer album
- Tama Artstar II kit with Paiste RUDE cymbals — both reverted from Lombardo's late-era Pearl/Zildjian setup
- First Slayer studio album recorded without Dave Lombardo since the band's 1983 formation
- Standard tuning — Slayer would not drop to alternate tunings until D-flat on Diabolus in Musica (1998)
- Opens the Bostaph era: Divine Intervention (1994) to Diabolus in Musica (1998) to God Hates Us All (2001), before Dave Lombardo's 2006 return on Christ Illusion
- Estimated kit value: $2,600-3,800 (1994)
- Estimated snare value: $300-450 (1994)

## FAQ

**Q: What gear did Paul Bostaph use on Divine Intervention?**
Paul Bostaph recorded Divine Intervention (1994) on a Tama Artstar II kit in Piano Black finish, with two 22x18-inch bass drums, 10 and 12-inch rack toms, and 14 and 16-inch floor toms. His snare was a 14x6.5 Tama steel model. Cymbals were Paiste RUDE — 14-inch hi-hats, 17 and 19-inch Wild Crashes, a 20-inch Ride, and an 18-inch China — the same RUDE lineage that had defined Reign in Blood and South of Heaven, replacing the Zildjian A/K cymbals Lombardo used on Seasons in the Abyss. Tama Iron Cobra pedals, by then in full retail production, powered the double-bass work.

**Q: How is Bostaph's style different from Lombardo on this album?**
Paul Bostaph's playing on Divine Intervention is tighter and more mechanically consistent than Dave Lombardo's more elastic, ferocious feel on prior Slayer albums. Where Lombardo's double bass had a looser, more physically aggressive character, Bostaph approached the same tempos with a more controlled, metronomic precision — a difference audible from the opening bars of "Killing Fields." This precision became Bostaph's signature across his Slayer tenure and is one of the reasons fans and critics have long debated the two drummers' relative merits rather than treating one as a simple replacement for the other.

**Q: What tuning did Slayer use on Divine Intervention?**
Slayer recorded Divine Intervention in standard tuning, consistent with every Slayer studio album up to that point. The band would not drop to alternate tunings until Diabolus in Musica (1998), which used D-flat — two and a half steps below standard. Divine Intervention's drum sound and gear reflect the classic, standard-tuned Slayer sonic template that Rick Rubin had established on Reign in Blood and South of Heaven.

**Q: When did Paul Bostaph first join Slayer?**
Paul Bostaph joined Slayer in early 1992, shortly after Dave Lombardo departed following the Seasons in the Abyss touring cycle and shortly after Bostaph himself left Forbidden, the Bay Area thrash band he co-founded. Divine Intervention, released September 27, 1994, was his first studio album with Slayer — the first Slayer studio album recorded without Dave Lombardo since the band's 1983 formation.

**Q: How did Divine Intervention chart commercially?**
Divine Intervention debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 — Slayer's highest US chart position at the time of release, a significant jump from Seasons in the Abyss's #40 peak in 1990. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA. The strong debut demonstrated that Slayer's audience accepted the drummer change commercially, even as debate about Bostaph's style versus Lombardo's continued among fans for years afterward.

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/divine-intervention-drum-setup

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*Last updated: 2026-06-27 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*