{"id":5629,"date":"2012-06-01T00:00:29","date_gmt":"2012-06-01T00:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=5629"},"modified":"2013-07-20T12:01:04","modified_gmt":"2013-07-20T12:01:04","slug":"feature-philm-06-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-philm-06-12\/","title":{"rendered":"PHILM – A Harmonic Slay (June 2012) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHILM – A Harmonic Slay<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nJune 2012<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
Philm (l-r): Dave Lombardo, Gerry Nestler and \u2018Pancho\u2019 Tomaselli<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Alternative metal outfit Philm\u2019s roots lie in 1996 roughly, veteran Slayer<\/a> drummer Dave Lombardo meeting Gerry Nestler (Civil Defiance \/ Kkleq Muzzil) through Juan Antonio Perez (Kkleq Muzzil). The pair hit it off, the trio forming Philm\u2019s original incarnation. Several demos were recorded between 1996 through to 1999, and subsequently Philm activity occurred for several years during the 2000s. Dave telephoned Gerry in December 2008 roughly, thus re-activating Philm. Francisco \u2018Pancho\u2019 Tomaselli (War) completed Philm\u2019s line-up, replacing Juan Antonio Perez.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really liked Gerry\u2019s style,\u201d enthuses Dave Lombardo. \u201cI found it very unique; it was heavy at times, but it just had a different style. I felt drawn to play drums with him. Tom Araya (vocals) from Slayer was in the hospital \u2013 he was getting some neck and spinal surgery \u2013 and I found myself with a bunch of time. I reformed the group at that time but I couldn\u2019t find the original bass player, so I ended up finding Pancho. He had approached me at a drum workshop and told me that he had heard I liked the band he was playing in, which was true. It was a band called War \u2013 the classic War band from the 70s \u2013 who he\u2019s been playing with for seven or eight years, or maybe longer. We\u2019ve been playing ever since. We took the bull by the horns, just recording the album ourselves in a house. It was a lot of fun; we had a really good time doing it, and we already have material for the next record.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pancho\u2019s playing style arguably differs to predecessor Juan Antonio Perez. \u201cOh yeah, it\u2019s different,\u201d the sticksman confirms. \u201cIt\u2019s much better. Pancho knows groove obviously because he\u2019s played with Lonnie Jordan (War), and Eric Burdon (formerly vocalist of The Animals and War). He hung out with Willie Nelson, Jack Bruce from Cream. Where I hang out with metal legends, he hangs out with funk legends. It\u2019s really cool. He has that side covered, so when I drop into a really funky beat \u2013 which sounds unheard of from the drummer of Slayer, but yes I do have soul in my playing \u2013 he is right on it and keeps up with me. If I go into a fast punk beat, he\u2019s there. He\u2019s an anchor, anchoring the entire thing with myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerry Nestler specifically supplies vocals as well as guitar parts. \u201cHe brings the ambience,\u201d Dave reckons. \u201cHe brings this feeling of like… I don\u2019t know. Flying? We call him the satellite. He disappears, and then he\u2019ll reappear. He\u2019s an interesting guy, but we wonder about him sometimes. He has this connection it seems with extraterrestrials (laughs). I don\u2019t know… That\u2019s a joke… I don\u2019t know. I can\u2019t explain it. It\u2019s very alien, and it\u2019s very musical. What\u2019s amazing about Gerry is he\u2019s a fantastic pianist. He\u2019ll play classical; he\u2019ll play (Arnold) Schoenberg, (Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric) Chopin, (Franz) Liszt. He\u2019ll go into jazz as well. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s a piano onstage, this band \u2013 this trio \u2013 will go into a full on jazz song. We\u2019ll improvise with piano, bass, and drums, but then he\u2019ll put on that guitar and we\u2019ll play a fast punk style of a song. We\u2019ll play \u2018Sex Amp\u2019, or \u2018Vitriolize\u2019, or \u2018Mitch\u2019. The distance between genres is so big. We have such a large palette to work with, it\u2019s fantastic. I could go into a percussion piece, or I could sit there playing bongos, gongs, and whatever. He\u2019ll then go into a piano section, and the bass player will probably pick up an upright bass. It\u2019ll then totally turn into a whole different band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Philm\u2019s moniker is a unique spelling of the noun \u2018film\u2019. \u201cSome of the stuff that we were doing back in \u201996 was film music,\u201d the rhythmist recalls. \u201cWe did the soundtrack for this movie called Crazy Love, which was a B-movie. It was a low budget little Hollywood movie, and we put some music to it. We were bouncing around ideas for names, but we couldn\u2019t decide. I think at some point somebody mentioned \u2018Oh dude, it\u2019s great. It\u2019s film music.\u2019 One of us thought \u2018Oh film… That\u2019d be kinda cool. But hey, let\u2019s change it to Philm.\u2019 That\u2019s how it came about \u2013 just by chance. Later we then find that phi has to do with the golden ratio, which is a formula that is in all things that are on earth. You can find the golden ratio formula in living matter, everything. Phi is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In numerology as well, if you take the one and the two it makes a three, and the band\u2019s a trio. Just all kinds of bullshit (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Soundtrack composers influence Philm, as the group\u2019s moniker indicates. \u201cI like John Carpenter, Hans Zimmer, Ennio Morricone,\u201d Dave cites. \u201cThere are various film composers that I find to be an influence, but when you\u2019re influenced by so many different genres of music you can\u2019t really pinpoint one particular person. It\u2019s more like genres, but yeah, film scores definitely influence this band.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
Dave Lombardo<\/em><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

To critique Philm against Slayer would be a futile endeavour. \u201cYou can\u2019t compare it,\u201d the skin-beater feels. \u201cThe only thing you can compare to Slayer is the angst in the drumming, the fire in the playing. That\u2019s the only thing. You hear the drum rolls, and it resonates that Slayer style because it\u2019s me. I have a signature style, and that\u2019s the only comparable component in this band.\u201d<\/p>\n

60s as well as 70s era ensembles generally constitute Philm\u2019s influences. \u201cI really, really enjoyed and grew up listening to Cream and Led Zeppelin<\/a>, which is what my older brothers would listen to,\u201d Dave remembers. \u201cMy older brother Danny would listen to Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Cream, Blind Faith, and then my other older brother would listen to Tina Turner, Isaac Hayes, Motown. He was into War, Tower Of Power, and all that style \u2013 all the funk and the r \u2019n\u2019 b of that era. That\u2019s where this comes from. Slayer was the music that I was into when I was a teenager and then kind of developed and grew with, which was metal. What inspired that was not only punk, but heavy metal like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. I was into other styles of music before that though. I was into Deep Purple and Black Sabbath<\/a>, so it wasn\u2019t just what influenced Slayer. It goes beyond that, way before that. That\u2019s what this music is; it\u2019s kind of the preempt of what Slayer is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fluidity was arguably the common ingredient which united drummers like Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) and Ginger Baker (Cream). \u201cIt was very jazz-like at that time, and it didn\u2019t rely so much on the education part of the musician,\u201d the percussionist notes. \u201cDrummers in those days were self-taught; they learnt by watching, listening, and mimicking, and not by reading scores of music or learning from a teacher. They did it from the heart, and learning it from the heart is from searching and educating yourself on something that you feel passionate about. It was done differently back then. Today we find drummers that are educated; they go to Berklee (College Of Music, Massachusetts), they go to Musicians\u2019 Institute (Hollywood, California), and they come out with all these high numbers. But man, if you put them in a room, come on. <\/p>\n

\u201cCome up with something, something that\u2019s new, interesting, and fresh. They wouldn\u2019t be able to though. All they come up with is what they\u2019ve learnt, the one scale that they worked on for four or five hours. Sometimes I have to tell musicians that I play with \u2018Dude…,\u2019 because I didn\u2019t grow up like that. I was self-taught, so I really don\u2019t know the language. I\u2019ve noticed the difference of certain musicians. I don\u2019t know where the hell this question started (laughs). Oh yeah… Drummers like Mitch Mitchell were very fluid, very natural, and very spontaneous and explosive. It had dynamic. Today of course with what I just said and also computers altering the sound of the drummer and the feeling of the drummer, you lose the swing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dave\u2019s performance on May 2012 full-length Harmonic<\/em><\/a> wasn\u2019t digitally amended during post-production. \u201cYou hear little clicks,\u201d he emphasises. \u201cWe left them like that because little clicks and sticks hitting are what makes it natural, and what makes it breathe. What you hear is something very unpolished. It\u2019s very unpolished, and it\u2019s in its raw form. I think music needs to be captured like that. I think it\u2019s special, and has dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Favouring a late 60s assemblage, the drummer\u2019s kit was reduced to a four-piece. \u201cIt\u2019s really challenging because I\u2019ve limited myself,\u201d he acknowledges. \u201cI have to find other ways to come up with what I want to express for what the guitar riff or the song is demanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accustomed to using a larger kit, occasions happened where Dave would instinctively attempt to use a certain part of the drum set, a part that had been removed. \u201cIt happens,\u201d he admits. \u201cIt\u2019s like \u2018Oh, I wish I had my other bass drum right now,\u2019 because I like to improvise. Sometimes I\u2019ll hear something and would like to add double-bass on it, but obviously I can\u2019t. I have other ways I can make it sound like double-bass though. I alternate between the bass drum and the floor tom, and I play it fast. The snare would be in the same place. Say if we\u2019re doing a beat like \u2018Overkill\u2019 from Mot\u00f6rhead (from the March 1979 album of the same name), I can do that with a single bass and a floor tom. I can mimic that style.\u201d<\/p>\n

Electronica as well as techno comprise Philm\u2019s more modern influences. \u201cWith techno, everybody thinks of \u2018Oomph, oomph, oomph\u2019 and that stuff,\u201d the sticksman contends. \u201cI\u2019m thinking of a more musical style. There\u2019s Prodigy, Fluke, Crystal Method, Roni Size. These are programmers, but obviously they aren\u2019t musicians per se. They can be considered musicians obviously \u2013 they have to be \u2013 but they\u2019re into electronic stuff. They sometimes create patterns and textures that could be applied, or they could be influenced in what you\u2019re expressing. There\u2019s that style of music that kind of gives it a different edge. I\u2019m also using a four-piece drum kit so I have to find and be influenced by certain grooves, and explore and borrow from different avenues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Electronica is vastly prevalent within industrial music. \u201cYou could say \u2018Sex Amp\u2019 was really influenced by industrial music,\u201d Dave observes. \u201cWhen everybody was into Korn and Pantera in the 90s \u2013 Limp Bizkit and all that \u2013 I got into Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy, KMFDM. Who else was I into at that time? Einst\u00fcrzende Neubauten \u2013 I can never pronounce their name \u2013 Laibach. The list goes on and on, so I was in a whole different genre than everybody else. I kind of steered away and went somewhere else, and experimented. So yeah, that\u2019s definitely one of my influences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
Philm (l-r): Gerry Nestler, Dave Lombardo and \u2018Pancho\u2019 Tomaselli<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Industrial music commonly employs the use of drum machines. \u201cYou see, some of the drummers these days I\u2019m not drawing influence from,\u201d the rhythmist divulges. \u201cI\u2019m gaining more influence from the machines. I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s influencing me in a certain way, but I think like a machine sometimes where every hit has to be executed perfectly. Maybe that helps me. It can be something beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n

The number \u2018Way Down\u2019 candidly exhibits said industrial influence. \u201cThat one is very much influenced \u2013 again \u2013 by the 60s style,\u201d Dave submits. \u201cCream, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, especially that lead on \u2018Way Down\u2019. It\u2019s explosive. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harmonic<\/em> was recorded in North Hollywood, California at the house of the percussionist\u2019s girlfriend. \u201cShe has this three to four-bedroom house, and there was a centre room in the middle of the house,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of strange how this room is set up. This room resembled a drum room that I had recorded in in Hagen, Germany at Woodhouse Studios, where I did three records (March 1995\u2019s Power Of Inner Strength<\/em>, February 1997\u2019s Nemesis<\/em>, and February 1999\u2019s Solidify<\/em>) with Grip Inc. in the 90s. When I walked into that room, she told me that she played guitar and sang in there. That\u2019s where she writes her music. She writes novels and she writes music, and that\u2019s her place. I said \u2018Wow, this resembles this drum room in Germany.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt had a tile floor, wooden ceiling, and stucco walls. The ambience in that room was really, really cool. It had a nice plate sound, as engineers call it. It was kind of tight. I said \u2018Hey, can we record here?,\u2019 and she agreed. She loved the idea, and we pulled it off. It was a lot of fun. We did it on our own time; we started in September, and I think we ended in January. Three to four months it took for us to get this record out, and mix and master it. It was a really nice environment, and she cooked for us every now and then. It was a nice hang.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vintage recording equipment was used, providing its own set of challenges. \u201cOnly that it would break down, or we would drive it a little too hard,\u201d Dave laughs. \u201cJust shit would happen. There were challenges along the way, but we did it. Man, we took the bull by the horns and just said \u2018Let\u2019s do it.\u2019 I got tired of doing demos, so we just pulled as much gear as we could and did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The skin-beater additionally handled production duties. \u201cI steered the album, and made sure we didn\u2019t veer off course,\u201d he evaluates. \u201cI was almost the captain, like \u2018Okay, let\u2019s go. We gotta work. We gotta get this done.\u2019 I wasn\u2019t a tyrant. I took the production hat off and I became the musician, but there was a time where I had to say \u2018No, this cannot be \u2013 we cannot do this. This isn\u2019t right.\u2019 I did leave a lot of things for the musicians though. I didn\u2019t sit there, and dominate every decision. I welcomed decisions, I welcomed ideas, and just anything any other musicians had to say. It was like \u2018Okay, we can consider that,\u2019 so there\u2019s a lot on this record that everybody participated in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dave harbours ambitions to undertake additional additional production work. \u201cIt has to be something I really, really like though,\u201d he stresses. \u201cThat won\u2019t happen for awhile, at least I don\u2019t think so. I don\u2019t think it will because I would like to sit with the musicians, as if I was in the band. I would sit there and listen. That\u2019s the only way I would like to do it. I think for the moment though, to continue producing Philm is my biggest goal. I\u2019m open to producing, but it has to be somebody I trust with this production.\u201d<\/p>\n

On January 6th, 2012, it was publicly revealed that Philm had inked an album contract with Ipecac Recordings. \u201cI exhausted all record companies,\u201d the drummer confesses. \u201cNobody wanted to step up… A few companies did, but we really weren\u2019t happy with who it was gonna end up with. We gave it really, really long thought. I decided to contact Mike, because I felt that the music fit with what Ipecac\u2019s direction is all about. To me the company is about creating, feeling free to show off your creativity, and your art, and not be told what to do by a company. It\u2019s on a one-on-one basis. It\u2019s a friendship, and I respect Mike and all his work. Mike is a great guy, and I know Greg Werckman as well. I\u2019ve worked with Greg with Fant\u00f4mas \u2013 he\u2019s the main guy over at Ipecac. I feel like it\u2019s home. I feel very comfortable. I love the people I work with within the company, so it feels really good. It\u2019s a perfect choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other record labels might have issued Harmonic<\/em> solely on the strength of the fact that Slayer\u2019s drummer is behind the kit, but without fully supporting its material. \u201cYes, I agree,\u201d Dave responds. \u201cAnother company wouldn\u2019t have paid attention, or they would\u2019ve shelved it. Ipecac is definitely more supportive, and they\u2019re listeners too. I know Patton listens to music \u2013 he\u2019s a listener. It\u2019s not like somebody who doesn\u2019t like listening to music is the head of their A&R. It\u2019s the real deal, so like I said, it\u2019s a win-win situation all the way across. We\u2019ve got a good company, and now the band has signed with Red Light Management. We\u2019re really excited about that too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

For the first occasion in a career spanning three decades, the sticksman penned compositions in a more improvisational manner. And as well, material exists to complete two future full-lengths. \u201cIt\u2019s like a breath of fresh air, because you never know what\u2019s gonna come out,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cWe already have 25 improv pieces of music that we can draw from to create probably two albums. When I get back I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll have some time off, maybe four to six weeks. Within that time we could probably demo up ten songs for the new album. It\u2019s the second phase. The first phase is the improvising, and then the editing. We cut things up, and keep the good parts. We listen to all the parts, and then we go back and we re-perform them by memory. We recreate them, and kind of put them in a song structure form. The lyrics are then written. I don\u2019t know how far we can get. Maybe we can get five of them down, and do some shows. I\u2019m hoping to take the band out on tour when I get back after Mayhem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing in a more improvisational manner generates more of a team spirit. \u201cIt does,\u201d Dave concurs. \u201cWe were excited. When we call practice, everybody shows up at my place. I make some coffee, like \u2018Right guys. Are you ready?\u2019 We discuss the daily bullshit \u2013 whatever is going on \u2013 and then we get charged up. We then go to Paula\u2019s house, and while we\u2019re there we\u2019ll maybe have a drink, relax, and say \u2018Alright, let\u2019s jam.\u2019 We then go at it. The vibe and the feeling is positive, because we just let loose on this record. We just let it all out.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as harbouring desires to produce future Philm material, the rhythmist harbours desires for Philm to perform in the United Kingdom. \u201cI\u2019m really excited about this album and this band,\u201d he beams. \u201cI just can\u2019t wait to play the UK. I feel the UK are going to embrace it, because it\u2019s an art that\u2019s been lost. Bands from the UK were the ones that were doing this. Mitch Mitchell, all those guys. Cream, Hendrix. It\u2019s that trio vibe, and all those bands had that. Like I said, I can\u2019t wait to play with Philm in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n

No UK performances are currently scheduled, however. \u201cWe have management looking for an agent, so let\u2019s just cross our fingers,\u201d Dave discloses. \u201cSomething will happen eventually, but we don\u2019t know when.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prospect of Philm touring alongside Slayer is remote. \u201cIt\u2019s not compatible,\u201d the percussionist insists. \u201cAt least I don\u2019t think it would. It\u2019s a different animal, it\u2019s very different. It might. You never know (laughs). I would\u2019ve never thought that Kerry King (Slayer guitarist) would play onstage with Philm, and he did. He joined me and the guys, and we did \u2018Raining Blood\u2019 (from October 1986\u2019s Reign In Blood<\/em>) together. It was great. Of course we did a Slayer song, but the fact that he went onstage and did it with me and those two other guys was a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was very nice of him. \u201cKerry\u2019s cool; me and Kerry get along so great,\u201d Dave replies. \u201cThere\u2019s a great bond and relationship within Slayer right now, and I think this whole thing with Jeff (Hanneman) has brought us closer together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis likely from a spider bite, the news emerging on February 12th, 2011. Vocalist Tom Araya underwent anterior cervical discectomy with fusion to alleviate back problems in early 2010. \u201cLife is fragile, dude,\u201d the skin-beater highlights. \u201cYou\u2019ve gotta take care of yourself, and you\u2019ve gotta be careful. I broke my leg in December. I was ice skating with my daughter, but I\u2019m fine now. I\u2019m perfectly fine; I healed perfectly. No surgery, no nothing. They wanted to do surgery on me, and I said \u2018No way.\u2019 Then there was the situation with Tom like you said, and then I think in 2004 I had a motorcycle accident that the press didn\u2019t really know about. I had some fractures and some bones broken throughout my face. It was insane.\u201d<\/p>\n

The accident in question involved a motocross bike. \u201cI was doing some summer riding in the sand dunes in Death Valley, California,\u201d Dave reveals. \u201cI loved motorcycles, dirt bikes \u2013 it\u2019s something I used to do. I used to go out with my sons; we used to go trail riding out through the desert. One day I went to Dumont Dunes out in Death Valley, and there\u2019s this sand dune called the Razorback. I didn\u2019t take the proper precautions on the turn, and I kind of misjudged. I went off of this 60-foot cliff at a real low speed because I misjudged the edge of the cliff. I had a zygomatic fracture in my face, and the side of my skull was fractured as well. I had to do surgery and everything. Life is fragile. You\u2019ve gotta take care of yourself, and appreciate what you got.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
Philm (l-r): Dave Lombardo, Gerry Nestler and \u2018Pancho\u2019 Tomaselli<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Nowadays, the drummer doesn\u2019t ride motorcycles. \u201cActually, I keep my feet planted firmly on the ground these days, especially after the ice skating accident,\u201d he assures. \u201cI\u2019m the guy who\u2019ll go surfing, and I\u2019m the one who gets in the go kart. I\u2019ll get in a race car… What else? I\u2019ve done all kinds of shit. I\u2019m the thrill seeker (laughs). I guess drummers are like that sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other musical projects might await in the pipeline, Slayer and Philm aside. \u201cThere\u2019s always something,\u201d Dave figures. \u201cI\u2019ve always got my brain thinking about some project or another, but nothing concrete yet. This is it for now. This is my baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

A two-track Slayer EP is scheduled for issue later in 2012, possibly prior to the outfit\u2019s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival summer jaunt in North America. \u201cI don\u2019t know too much about it, except that I recorded my parts in April,\u201d the sticksman cautions. \u201cIt came from some work that Kerry and I were doing that started the end of 2011. He and I got together and started working, and we decided to go into the studio and do an EP. When it\u2019s going to be released? I don\u2019t know. Is it done? I don\u2019t know. I know Tom has sung on the songs already, so they\u2019re pretty much done. Mixed? I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know the details. I don\u2019t know where it stands. It\u2019s all a mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, Dave doesn\u2019t know the titles of the two compositions. \u201cI heard one of the songs though, and it sounds amazing,\u201d he exalts. \u201cIt\u2019s very cool. I really liked it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tempo of the two numbers is one such question which Slayer fanatics wish to put forth. \u201cWhat\u2019s fast for Slayer?,\u201d the rhythmist questions. \u201cFast as in \u2018Necrophobic\u2019 (from Reign In Blood<\/em>) fast, or fast as in \u2018War Ensemble\u2019 (from October 1990\u2019s Seasons In The Abyss<\/em>) fast? The first song is more of a \u2018War Ensemble\u2019 kind of fast. Just the pace, the tempo. That\u2019s all I can say, other than it\u2019s traditional Slayer sound and structuring. I don\u2019t remember the second song that they chose though.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slayer inevitably plan to record a 12th studio album. \u201cWe\u2019ll eventually get another record out,\u201d Dave confirms.<\/p>\n

However, no concrete plans are in place at the time of writing. Having contracted necrotizing fasciitis, the health of Jeff Hanneman is another topic of discussion among the circles of Slayer fanatics. \u201cHe\u2019s getting better,\u201d the percussionist states. \u201cHe\u2019s just working on getting better, and that\u2019s all I can say. We want him back and want him back onstage, but he needs to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

One could assume that Jeff\u2019s recovery has caused a delay in the recording of Slayer\u2019s 12th studio platter, but Dave argues that this isn\u2019t the case. \u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d he muses. \u201cI think things are going just as planned. We just have these shows to do. We went in and we did the EP, similar to how we did \u2018Psychopathy Red\u2019 in 2009 right before World Painted Blood<\/em> (November 2009) came out. We released \u2018Psychopathy Red\u2019 as a single, so this is similar. Everything is pretty much on track. This has nothing to do with Jeff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harmonic<\/em> was released on May 14th, 2012 in the United Kingdom and subsequently on the 15th in North America, all via Ipecac Recordings.<\/p>\n

Interview published in June 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PHILM – A Harmonic Slay Anthony Morgan June 2012 Philm (l-r): Dave Lombardo, Gerry Nestler and \u2018Pancho\u2019 Tomaselli Alternative metal outfit Philm\u2019s roots lie in 1996 roughly, veteran Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo meeting Gerry Nestler (Civil Defiance \/ Kkleq Muzzil) through Juan Antonio Perez (Kkleq Muzzil). The pair hit it off, the trio forming Philm\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[283,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-philm","category-slayer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5629"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13126,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629\/revisions\/13126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}