Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo has made it clear that he has no plans to rejoin ex-bandmates. Following a contractual dispute before the band’s Australian tour back in 2013, Lombardo left the band to be permanently replaced by Paul Bostaph. A year later, Lombardo spoke with Blabbermouth about the bad blooded split, ultimately concluding, “If it weren’t for me, Slayer would not exist.” He has spoken out again in response to questions about his (non-existent) future with Slayer.
Lombardo told Metal Hammer magazine about the lack of relationships in the band, “We just saw each other before going onstage every night. You travel in different buses and hang out in different circles. It made it very had to go onstage and have any sort of chemistry.” He continued to answer any question of returning to Slayer saying, “No. That’s it. I’m done now. I’ve got lots of other things on my plate and I now know that, when it comes to money, you don’t have any friends in this business. I won’t ever be going back.”
Slayer’s Tom Araya was interviewed by Blabbermouth as well following Lombardo’s initial departure from the band. When discussing the unsure future of the band and particularly it’s unlikely participation in the “Big Four” tradition back in 2013, Araya said, “I don’t want to say politics is preventing that. It’s not the politics between bands ; it’s the politics of character in one particular band.” Araya’s hinting at Slayer’s interpersonal dramas foreshadowed Lombardo’s split. Araya and the Slayer guys became increasingly unsure about the future of Slayer as time went on and also brought the devastation of guitarist Jeff Hanneman’s death.
Nevertheless, Slayer prevailed with the recent release of their first new material in five years with track, “Implode.” Lombardo also moved on and has recently joined Amen as a fixture on their late summer UK tour and upcoming album.
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