In a recent interview with Metal Hammer, legendary drummer Dave Lombardo was asked to name the best of the Big Four, an exclusive group of thrash metal greats consisting of Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Lombardo responded almost instantaneously with the latter.

“Who else could I pick?! We were brutal man, we were on top of our game, and if you watch the videos we were on fire. We really showed everyone else how it should be done – we tore everyone a new one,” Lombardo offered on the reasoning behind his choice.

He also explained Slayer’s relationship with the rising death metal scene of the late ’80s, recalling the fact that they used to watch bands from side-stage, “I remember whispering to Hanneman, ‘We’re better,’ or ‘We’re faster,’ haha! It wasn’t necessarily arrogant, but it was inspiring if we watched a band that couldn’t deliver the ferocity we were because it made us feel amazing, like, ‘Oops, failure!’ It was a youthful approach – you want to be better than the guy before you, you want to blow everyone away, and that was our mantra.”

Back in January, Lombardo launched a new musical project with his wife called Venamoris, releasing a music video for “Let Me Be” and “Crimson Tears.” In March, he announced the release of his debut solo album Rites Of Percussion which was preceded by singles “Journey Of The Host” and “Inner Sanctum” before arriving in early May.

Lombardo’s various collaborations also came to fruition, including a cover of Pink Floyd’s “San Tropez” with Chris Poland, Graham Bonnet and Rick Wakeman and a new Gunship feature alongside Milkie Way on “Monster In Paradise.” He even joined Mr. Bungle as they dusted off a classic track from their 1991 self-titled album, playing it for the first time in over 20 years.

Lombardo has also been active with Empire State Bastard who just released their new album Rivers Of Heresy back in September. The record was preceded by a plethora of singles including “Harvest,” “Stutter,” “The Looming,” “Moi?” and “Tired, Naw?”

Photo Credit: Marv Watson