Dave Lombardo Slams His SLAYER Replacement

Lombardo had been known for having a loose tongue about his former bandmates in Slayer

In a new interview with Planet Mosh, Lombardo addressed Tom Araya’s recent statement that Lombardo was only a “working member” of the band:

“It’s sickening. I left the band in ’92 to be at home for the birth of my son, period. One show changed the course of this band. Tom has forgotten history… swallowed the stories that have been created throughout the years to sell tickets. If it weren’t for me, SLAYER would not exist. I approached Kerry [King, guitar] to start this band. Somehow they have forgotten that.”

He said his current relationship with Araya and King is “sadly non-existant” and that he has no regrets about his Facebook post, which Araya called a “rant.”

The topic shifted to late Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, with the interviewer first asking what Lombardo’s relationship was with Jeff in his last days:

“I didn’t see Jeff for a few months before he passed, but we had many texts and ‘phone calls right up until [then]. He really didn’t let anyone too close to his everyday life. But, when we spoke it was like no time had passed, a lot of laughter. I couldn’t ask for anything more than what my relationship was with Jeff. It was amazing.”

Now this next statement may come back to bite him in the ass. When asked about the Memorial for Hanneman, Lombardo did not have kind words for either King or Araya:

“I was shocked that Tom didn’t show up to the memorial. It was uncomfortable for me to be there, given what was going on with the band, but I still showed up. I was equally shocked at Kerry’s self-centred stories. None of his stories described the kind of human being Jeff was…”

He has even revealed salary figures in a video from a recent Northern Ireland drum clinic, Lombardo continued to express his frustration, including giving hard numbers on his salary for the year of 2011. Here is an excerpt:

“I did my best to try to keep it together, but I couldn’t go on, man,” Dave said. “I had to step out, because you can’t be shackled like that; nobody can take advantage of another person like that anymore. I did it for too many years, and I held my breath. Red flags kept going on in my books. It’s, like, ‘Really? I’m supposed to make more money? Why am I on the same salary? I’m making the exact same thing I’ve been making the past two years. And this is back in 2004. So I knew something was up. And I tried my best to work it out with the guys. I brought Tom into the picture. I had Tom in a hotel room with me talking to my attorney, and my attorney was telling him everything their management company had been doing to them for the past 30 freakin’ years. And we had an accountant, a forensic accountant, ready to go in there and look at the stuff.””Tom got bought out. Management flipped him over a couple of hundred grand — who knows how much? — and Kerry [King, guitar] as well, to keep quiet and go against Lombardo. So they turned their backs on me. And on the last day, when I’m at rehearsal with them — and I saved it all the way until the end — I said, ‘Guys, we need a new business plan. You guys have been on the same business plan after 30 years. Now I’m an income participant. In other words, I ‘m a percentage holder.’ So if you’re a percentage holder, you know, you have the right, and you’re contracted as a percentage holder, you have the right to see where all the expenses are going. Because here you are getting paid off of net, and then out of 4.4 million dollars, the band gets 400 thousand dollars. Where’s the four million? And that’s just 2011. [It goes to] lawyers, accountant and the manager.”For the past 30 years, they were doing that to the guys. And they took my information… I’ll never forget the day, I just said, ‘Guys, look at this. This came from your accountant.’ And it showed all the money. It wasn’t showing where the money was going, it was just showing ‘gross,’ ‘expenses,’ ‘net.’ And out of that net, I made, on tour, in 2011, 67 thousand dollars. Kerry and Tom, that was about 114 thousand dollars they made on tour. So if you did about 60 shows, divide that up between 60 shows… Anybody have a calculator? No, not 60… Let’s say about 90 shows per year: 30 in the spring, 30 in the summer and 30 shows in the winter, in the fall. So you break that up per show… Really? It’s disgusting. I’m not gonna… I bust my ass up there playing drums. I mean, I am just sweating, I’m beat. And for the guy in the Hollywood Hills, for his facials, his manicures… No, I’m not gonna play for that. No.

“So, guys, I did everything I could. All I can say, right now my schedule is open. I can do whatever I want whenever I want. I can go over to Europe, do some clinics, hang out with you guys.”

Those claims may not be valid, MetalSucks contributer DX Ferris and author of Slayer 66 2/3: The Jeff & Dave Years, questioned the validity of those numbers with this statement:

It’s unlikely that Lombardo only made $67k from touring in 2011. According to Ferris’ book, divorce papers filed after Lombardo split with his then-wife, Teresa, state that “Dave must continue to support Teresa at a level which she is accustomed to” — about $100,000 annually. The papers claim that Lombardo was averaging a salary of $200,000 per year towards the end of his tenure with Slayer. Writes Ferris: “Lombardo divorce records signed by Lombardo’s attorney (but not Lombardo) revealed that Slayer had owed Lombardo $194,027″ for 2012. How much of this income was from touring as opposed to, say, merch (of which Lombardo was definitely getting a cut), but it seems fair to assume that Lombardo’s figures are off. Original story follows below.

n a recent interview with Music Radar, Lombardo was asked about another band he was a huge part of, Fantômas and how his bandmates in that group replaced him with drummer Terry Bozzio for their upcoming shows and somehow the topic of Slayer came up:

“I want you to know something. I was honored by the gesture of replacing me with Terry Bozzio. That, to me, was respect. Instead of replacing me with a guy that hasn’t done anything in 10 years, waiting on the couch, fiddling his thumbs, ‘Oh my god, when is Slayer going to get rid of Dave?’

“It’s like, come on. Terry Bozzio is an amazing drummer. I love his playing, I love the way he sings with his drums and creates music. I saw some video footage of him playing with Fantômas – wow. He did it his own way and I really liked it.”

Of course, this begs the question of who Lombardo was talking about? While Slayer’s new permanent drummer is Paul Bostaph, Lombardo was immediately replaced by Jon Dette once Lombardo announced his split.

I’m going to say that Lombardo was specifically referencing Dette. Bostaph was definitely not just sitting around these last 10 years. He played with bands like Testament and Exodus. Meanwhile, Dette is a hired gun who most people were not even familiar with when he was announced as a replacement.

Partial Story via  Metal Injection