Former SLAYER and current SUICIDAL TENDENCIES drummer Dave Lombardo was interviewed on a recent installment of the “Peer Pleasure” podcast. You can now listen to the chat below.
Asked at which point he knew that SLAYER had finally become successful, Lombardo said: “I think once we signed with Rick Rubin, once the major label interest happened, that moment, I think that was a turning point. It was, like, ‘Wait, we’re doing something special. We’re gaining the attention of major companies, and managers as well.’ I remember… Well, it was this manager. [Q Prime co-founder] Cliff Burnstein shows up at SLAYER‘s rehearsal. And Cliff Burnstein was about to choose whether he wanted METALLICA or SLAYER. And that happened. He obviously chose METALLICA. But there was a lot of interest [in SLAYER] from people. And, of course, we started playing bigger venues and traveling a lot more. So I think about that period was when everything just changed. We knew that we were on to something.”
Lombardo was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the band’s Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. He has since been replaced by Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER‘s drummer from 1992 until 2001.
Lombardo has just completed the first-ever U.S. tour with his DEAD CROSS project, which also features singer Mike Patton (FAITH NO MORE), bassist Justin Pearson (THE LOCUST, RETOX, HEAD WOUND CITY) and guitarist Michael Crain (RETOX, FESTIVAL OF DEAD DEER).
