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DAVE LOMBARDO On SLAYER: ‘They Weren’t Really My Friends. They Were Just Business Partners’

Manos Spanos
Mark Dean of Myglobalmind webzine recently conducted an interview with former SLAYER and current PHILM drummer Dave Lombardo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Myglobalmind: Looking back over your extensive musical career, what have been the particular high and low points? Dave: Well, it fluctuates; up and down, you know. A low point was probably January of last year whenever [the most recent split] went down, you know, with SLAYER. It was leading up to that, you know, unfortunately. Well, not really leading up to it, because my bags were ready and packed to go [with the band to Australia for the Soundwave festival]. Myglobalmind: It still must be difficult for you on a personal level? As they were your friends, and people that you had grown up with. Dave: Yeah, it's strange. It's unfortunate as well, because I realize now that they weren't really my friends. They were just business partners. I lived and hung out with them, as if they were friends. "Wow, these guys are watching out for me," and it didn't quite turn out that way. Myglobalmind: How do you feel one year on? Has your attitude to the situation mellowed, or…? Dave: Yeah, I have, I am more, like, "Oh, well, shit happens." Move on, you know. Myglobalmind: Are you generally a modest person about your personal musical talent and ability? How do you deal, for example, with compliments. I read, for example, that Bill Ward [BLACK SABBATH] called you “one of the best drummers in metal"? Dave: Yeah, I am honored. First of all, I am honored to have Bill Ward as my friend. This is a guy that I looked at these albums and listened to this music, and played along to these albums as a child and a little kid. For me to know Bill, it is surreal, and it feels very odd, but it is awesome. Myglobalmind: How do you find being a working and touring musician in the Internet age? Is it more difficult to make a living? Dave: Well, it is. Myglobalmind: You can't do this full time? I have talked to other guys who have established careers and still have to take other jobs because life is difficult, and can't sustain a living solely from music. Dave: Well, the thing is you have to find other ways and get creative and find other ways to market your music and to recreate yourself. It's, like, once the Internet and the worldwide web came into the picture, everyone scrambled, and the first was the music industry, because everyone was downloading music, so they started scrambling ways to make a living. So you just have to get creative. Yeah, it is difficult. It's a little different. The royalties aren't the same from the physical CDs, but there are other avenues of income that you just need to sign up online and you will start receiving royalties on the songs that you have recorded. I never knew this until recently, about six months ago, and it was, like, "Woah, I got a nice check in the mail." All I did was just go online and register my name all the music that I did in my life that I have recorded. Myglobalmind: That you weren't aware of, that type of royalties thing? Dave: I was never aware of. Nobody told me, thank you fucking very much. Myglobalmind: What about your health over the years? Playing drums at the velocity and energy levels that you exhibit regularly on stage, has that had any adverse health effects? Dave: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Thank God. I've been healthy. The only things that have been wrong was I broke my leg and I had to stop for only about three weeks 'cause I got straight on the drums again. They said, "No, you gotta stay off the leg. No, no." I worked it up. Myglobalmind: It's in the blood, is it? Dave: Yeah, I just kept going and it was great. I wrote a song and it's on the new album, the new PHILM album, with a broken leg, so… But other than that, no. I drink a lot of water. I try to stay off the booze, although I like it, but there's limits. I try to eat right and I try to walk a lot. You could really become… You could grow stagnant. You could get very lazy if you don't stay active. Myglobalmind: Playing that type of music obviously is going to have that chance of health issues… Dave: I started PHILM, you know, when I noticed that [SLAYER], in a way, health-wise, was crumbling, not only with Jeff [Hanneman, guitar], but with Tom [Araya, bass/vocals] and Kerry [King, guitar] doesn't take care of himself. He should be careful. Well, I'm not going to tell him that… Myglobalmind: Nobody would tell him that. Dave: Nobody. And I'm not either. Myglobalmind: He's quite an imposing character, shall we say. Dave: Yeah, of course. He has a lot of insecurities. Read the
05 min read

TOM ARAYA: SLAYER’s Music ‘Is Going To Live Forever’

Manos Spanos
Nathan Smith of HoustonPress.com recently conducted an interview with SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. A few excerpts from the chat follow below. On the May 2013 death of SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman: Araya: "It was just as shocking to me. We all have issues with vices in life, but I didn't know they were to that extent with his health. It was a shocking thing to get a phone call saying, 'Hey, Jeff passed away this morning,' and I'm like, 'What?! I talked to him a few days ago, and everything was fine!'" On how Hanneman's death has changed his outlook on the band: Araya: "Before, there was always hope that [Hanneman] would return. It wasn't a question of returning, it was a question of when he was returning. After he passed and we went to Europe to do that tour maybe a month later, it was... it was different. People don't realize that he had a major creative role in this band and in this new music we called thrash metal. "I still find myself having to tell myself now that he's passed that he's not going to be a part of the band anymore. So it changes your attitude; it changes your mood about things. It changes your outlook on quite a bit." On whether SLAYER will continue beyond the current tour: Araya: "That's something that me and Kerry [King, guitar] have to sit down and communicate our thoughts about. I have my feelings and my thoughts, and I need to share them with Kerry. That's what's going to happen on this trip. We need to sit down and figure out what we want to do and how to move forward." On the likelihood of Jeff's leftover material being used on SLAYER's next album:
02 min read

TESTAMENT’s ALEX SKOLNICK: JEFF HANNEMAN’s Riffs Are ‘All Over’ SLAYER’s Iconic Tunes

Manos Spanos
Peter Atkinson of Metal-Rules.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Alex Skolnick of San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Metal-Rules.com: The last time you toured with SLAYER, was Jeff Hanneman still with the band? Skolnick: The last time we toured with them, I think it must have been one of the last tours that Jeff did. Of course, no one knew that at the time. He hadn't developed his health issues so Gary [Holt, SLAYER's current touring guitarist] wasn't there yet, he was still going full-time with EXODUS, who we also toured with. You couldn't have known what was going to happen. That was 2010, and it was only 2011 when the "Big Four" shows happened and he [Hanneman] couldn't do those, which was such a shame. Metal-Rules.com: You wrote a very eloquent and well-circulated tribute to Hanneman after his death. TESTAMENT toured with SLAYER many times, but did you really know him that well or was that more to show respect for his talents? Skolnick: I never really knew him well at all. He was very difficult to get to know, actually. And I don't say that disrespectfully. Even close friends of his said it would take a long time to get to know him. Robb Flynn, a friend of ours from MACHINE HEAD, wrote that he'd toured with them, like, eight times and he still felt like he barely knew him. He kept to himself more. I don't think he related to many people — that was just the way he was — but he was a towering presence, no question. I wrote about him more from his reputation, which is tremendous. When you think about the music, the music is great and he is such a part of it. With all due respect to Kerry [King], when you take a look at the iconic SLAYER tunes, it'sHanneman's riffs all over it. Metal-Rules.com: I haven't seen anything about Chuck's [Billy, TESTAMENT singer] health in a long time, so I'm assuming no news is good news there and his health is good. How's the rest of the band holding up, since none of you are kids anymore? Skolnick: Yeah, thankfully, that's worked out really well. Chuck's been much better [after a battle with rare form of cancer in 2001]; he's been in great shape. Everybody in this band, knock on wood, is in relatively good health. I think as time goes on and you realize that you don't have as much free time as you once had, your perspective changes. Fortunately, most of us realize that and take better care of ourselves. I was always a lightweight when it came to alcohol and never really developed a taste for other substances, so I think that worked to my benefit. I was taking care of myself early on, and I would get a lot of funny looks, but it seems like now many people are catching up to me. Metal-Rules.com: TESTAMENT's been pretty busy, especially over the last few years, and just about everyone has at least one other band going on the side — notably Gene [Hoglan, drummer] with DETHKLOK and now, apparently, with DARK ANGEL again. Are you all finding you are able to balance TESTAMENT with the other things you want to do? Skolnick: That's been the toughest, I think, with Gene. I used to be the thorn in the side, with my trio shows and I was doing TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA for a long time. I narrowed it down to TESTAMENT, my trio [ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO] and a world music project I'm working on. But I have control over those, so I am able to let the chips fall where they may withTESTAMENT, because usually their shows are booked well in advance. Occasionally, there are some curveballs where we get last-minute things like festivals or something. I'm mostly able to work my activities around the TESTAMENT schedule. Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist] and Chuck do their side projects [DRAGONLORD and DUBLIN DEATH PATROL, respectively] so sporadically that it never poses scheduling problems. With Gene, it got a little bit easier when he wasn't playing in FEAR FACTORY anymore, which happened last year. And theDETHKLOK shows are usually booked far in advance, so we can work around those. Occasionally, he'll have to miss a few dates, a friend of ours, Mark Hernandez fromFORBIDDEN, was able to fill in and it worked out. But with all of us, we really feel like the core lineup and we do everything that we can so the fans get to see this lineup. Read the entire interview at Metal-Rules.com.
05 min read

TOM ARAYA: Why DAVE LOMBARDO Is No Longer In SLAYER

Manos Spanos
During a brand new interview with Brian Aberback of New Jersey's Steppin' Out magazine,SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya was asked about the band's decision to part ways with drummer Dave Lombardo bring back Paul Bostaph. "That whole issue came down to this: Dave had been jamming with us for a while, as a working member of the band, but he wasn't a partner," Tom began. "Like all things like that, you have to have agreements, so nobody feels cheated. We had ongoing issues and finally he put us in a position where we had to find someone to replace him. He wasn't happy, so he decided to have his Facebook rant and told the world about a lot of issues going on within the band that are legally binding and private. I thought that was wrong and it was upsetting. A lot of the claims he made were untrue. Part of the agreement is you don't do that. Kerry [King, SLAYERguitarist], Jeff [Hanneman, then-SLAYER guitarist] and I got on the phone and made a collective decision and we let Dave go and gave Paul a call. Paul said he'd be happy to come back. He has brought some life back into our live performances. He's in hyper drive and kicking ass, which makes us play faster. People have commented on how energetic we've been lately. We're playing faster than we would have. It's good injection of adrenaline." Lombardo sat out SLAYER's Australian tour in February/March due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. Filling in for him was Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX). During an interview with the KZRADIO.NET alternative radio station in Israel conducted on May 1 — just one day before the tragic passing of SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman — Lombardostated about his the circumstances that led to him being absent from SLAYER's current trek: "Basically, I had to renegotiate my contract two and a half years ago and I got an attorney because it was too complicated for me to do it myself. And my attorney was asking questions. And the answers she got from her questions, they weren't correct; they weren't the right answers. So we worked on it for two and a half years. And 2013 came around and SLAYER had to go on tour, and I said, 'Guys, I can't go on tour unless we resolve this, I've been advised.'" He continued: "What I need is clarity — clarity and transparency. "You go and make money for somebody, and if somebody is gonna pay you a percentage, you need to know where all this goes. They say I don't deserve to know, but I think if you're gonna pay somebody a percentage, they deserve to know. Because how are you gonna know what you got paid when you don't know everything else? "It's a little complicated, and there's more to it as well. "They feel that because I left in 1992 and I left for 10 years, they feel I don't deserve [to know all the details of their business]. "I mean, I love the guys — they're like my brothers — and I wish this didn't happen. But now there's like this wall between us." Regarding some fans' criticism that money should not get in the way of the members ofSLAYER making music together, Lombardo said: "What people don't understand is that, being a musician, you have to be a part businessman. There's contracts… If you're a musician and you don't have a contract and you don't follow up on your business, people are gonna take from you and they're gonna steal from you.
04 min read

PAUL BOSTAPH: SLAYER Is Honoring JEFF HANNEMAN By Continuing Without Him

Manos Spanos
Earlier this week, Dimitris Kontogeorgakos of Greece's Metal Kaoz conducted an interview with SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On how it feels playing with SLAYER again: Bostaph: "It feels phenomenal. It feels really good. It feels like being home. I've always loved playing this music. I grew up on it… Just coming back to this, it's been really good. It's kind of like going back and playing with old friends again. I mean, Kerry [King, guitar] and I were really close and we still are, and I'm close to Tom [Araya, bass/vocals]. And I know Gary [Holt] from EXODUS [who is filling in for late SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman] — I know Gary very well. The only bittersweet part of it, obviously, is that Jeff is not with us anymore. And I was looking forward to that, to playing with him again. But other than that, other than Jeff passing, it's been really good." On his decision in December 2001 to leave SLAYER and how things are different today: Bostaph: "Well, it's funny… I was different back then. The way I looked at things was different — right or wrong. And now I've had the time to kind of… Sometimes they say you don't know what you have until it's gone. And I think over the years, just seeing the guys and playing with different bands [since I left SLAYER], I kind of realized that playing with these guys is that there's a way that they do things that… In terms of… I don't know… It's hard to explain. There's a work ethic that appeals to me within this band. I think there's just a feeling of loving the music. First and foremost, and the primary thing out of everything, I couldn't find a band that could do what this band does. And that's the bottom line, really." On whether he was the first and only name on SLAYER's list of possible replacements for the band's original drummer, Dave Lombardo, when Dave parted ways with SLAYER earlier this year: Bostaph: "Honestly, I don't think so; I don't think I was the first and only [name on the list]. I mean, there's probably some other guys [that were being considered as well]. But I'm the guy that's here now. It made sense [for me to return]. I mean, you can't think anything for granted and think it's just gonna work. You have to try it out and see how things feel. It's been over [ten] years [since I left the band], and I'm sure they wanted to see how it felt playing together again, and being in a room together, you know what I mean?! You just don't make a snap judgment like that and [assume] that it's going to work. And they didn't. And we got together and we felt it out, and it felt really good, and here we are." On how different it feels being in SLAYER without Jeff:
08 min read

SLAYER’s TOM ARAYA: JEFF HANNEMAN’s Death ‘Has Changed Everything’

Manos Spanos
Brian Aberback of New Jersey's Steppin' Out magazine recently conducted an interview with SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. An excerpt from the chat follows below. Steppin' Out: You just started doing press for this tour and know that everyone will be asking about [late SLAYER guitarist] Jeff [Hanneman]. How do you feel talking about everything that's gone on in the past six months? Tom Araya: You know you're going to get those questions whether we decide to do press or not. If you don't do interviews, no one is aware that you're doing a tour. It wouldn't bother me if Kerry [King, guitar] did all the interviews. [laughs] But when I do interviews, I enter them with an open mind and try to answer the questions the best I can. Steppin' Out: Did you have any idea that Jeff was seriously ill before he died? Tom: Nobody ever thought about Jeff passing away. I thought about him getting better and getting back onstage. We've been talking about getting back in the studio for the last two years, with Jeff being a part of that. It was something to be continued. Steppin' Out: Have you thought about folding the band following his death? Tom: His death has changed everything. Knowing that Jeff was on the sidelines, I was OK. It was always about, "Jeff is going to come back." Then he passed away and it was more like, "Why am I doing this now?" It changed my attitude about some things. Someone said, "It's really great that you decided to tour and move on," but these tours were scheduled in advance. At the end of this tour, Kerry and I are going to have to sit down and talk as far as how we want to move forward, if we want to move forward. There hasn't been time for me and Kerry to talk. We've been on the road but we haven't really sat down and talked about it. Jeff and I collaborated a lot, and he offered me the opportunity to write or to collaborate with him. Like I said, there are things we have to discuss to either move forward or just to figure something out. Steppin' Out: How tough was it playing the first shows after Jeff's death this summer in Europe?
03 min read

GARY HOLT Will ‘Probably’ Record Solos On Next SLAYER Studio Album

Manos Spanos
Kevin J. Wells of Washington Times recently conducted an interview with EXODUS and SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Washington Times: Is there a new EXODUS record in the works? Gary Holt: Right now, I'm starting to compile riffs and get to that stage and I'm gonna continue writing while out the upcoming SLAYER tour as well. I pretty much have a break from the world of SLAYER 'til next April. So, I'm using this time off to make sure that I get that next EXODUS record done. Washington Times: Is SLAYER is also starting work a new record? Gary Holt: The recording for that should start sometime maybe by the end of this year. So, hopefully, then kill two birds with one stone and manage to keep both bands touring at the same time. Who knows? Washington Times: Will you do any of the recording with SLAYER? Gary Holt: It looks like I'll probably be doing solos on the record, but the songs are all written. Kerry [King] will handle all that stuff. My plate's kind of full anyway, so I'll probably be bouncing back and forth from L.A. to San Francisco. Washington Times: Tom Araya said that there are a few Jeff Hanneman songs that he was working on. Have you had a chance to hear them and has SLAYER done any work on them? Gary Holt: No. I know they have some stuff, you know, I think the bulk of whatever's left over was stuff that remained from "World Painted Blood", but I haven't heard it yet, so I can't comment on it. I'm sure it'd be super cool to have some of his last final works end up on the SLAYER album. That would be awesome. Read the entire interview at Washington Times.
02 min read

SLAYER’s TOM ARAYA: Having Drummer PAUL BOSTAPH Back In The Band ‘Is Awesome’

Manos Spanos
On October 9, Peter Atkinson of Metal-Rules.com conducted an interview with SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. A few excerpts from the chat follow below. Metal-Rules.com: Are you interested in seeing people's reactions here to the new SLAYER, the new old SLAYER, or whatever people think it is? Tom: [laughs] I don't know. They've experienced SLAYER with Gary [Holt, guitar], and everybody's experienced SLAYER with Paul [Bostaph, drums] because Paul was part of the band for quite a few years, so it'll be time for everybody to get reacquainted with Paul and acclimated to this lineup. Gary has been playing with us for two years now, if you can believe that. People have seen the various pieces, just not all together. Paul's always been a friend. When he left, it was on his terms, and it was no bad feelings at all. Paul felt he needed to move on and it wasn't on bad terms and to have him back and playing in the band is awesome. It's like we're taking up where we left off with Paul and he's amazing. He's full of energy, he's excited to be back and he's excited to be part of SLAYER again. So it makes for very energetic shows and very exciting times. This is gonna be good. Like I said, everybody is going to be reacquainted with Paul and everybody knows Gary has been filling in, now it's just a whole different circumstance knowing that Jeff [Hanneman, guitar] has passed. I'm sure everyone will enjoy it. Paul is very energetic and excited, which makes everybody else excited. It'll be good and it will allow closure for everybody. Metal-Rules.com: How is Gary dealing with all this. He's in odd position — plus there's still EXODUS and I wonder if he's itching to get back to that, since it's his baby?
05 min read

QUEEN’s BRIAN MAY Undergoes Knee Replacement Surgery

Manos Spanos
According to The Pulse Of Radio, QUEEN's Brian May has kept his fan base on top of his knee replacement surgery via his official web site,BrianMay.com, posting on August 6: "I'm THROUGH!!! With a shiny new knee. This no walk in the park (!) but for 1st time in months I feel optimistic and free of that OLD pain. Thanks so much for the great messages — it means a lot. Bri zzzzz." In addition to his new album with Broadway star Kerry Ellis, called"Acoustic By Candlelight", May has been putting the finishing touches on the soon-to-be-released 1983 Freddie Mercury/Michael Jacksondemos. In addition to that, he and drummer Roger Taylor have been working on new QUEEN tracks with legendary producer Chris Thomas. Chris Thomas is best known for his work on THE BEATLES' "White Album" and numerous projects with Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend,THE PRETENDERS, PINK FLOYD, BADFINGER, INXS, SEX PISTOLS,Elton John, U2, among others. The sessions mark his first behind the boards for QUEEN. There's no word who the two vocalists singing lead on the tracks are, or when they'll be released. The Pulse Of Radio asked QUEEN drummer Roger Taylor if he and Brian May have remained as close as they were during QUEEN's heyday. "Very close," he said. "I mean, we are, y'know, what's left of QUEEN. And, y'know, I saw him yesterday, we had a meeting. We see one other all the time — 'cause there's so much to talk about. Seems like there's more and more to talk about. And we don't always agree all the time, but we are very close, yeah."
01 min read