{"id":5680,"date":"1991-03-01T00:00:13","date_gmt":"1991-03-01T00:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=5680"},"modified":"2013-05-29T23:40:13","modified_gmt":"2013-05-29T23:40:13","slug":"feature-slayer-mf60","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-slayer-mf60\/","title":{"rendered":"SLAYER – A Man For All Seasons (MF60, 1991) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

SLAYER – A Man For All Seasons<\/strong><\/span><\/span>
\nBorivoj Krgin<\/span>
\nMetal Forces, Issue 60 (1991)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Slayer (l-r): Dave Lombardo, Jeff Hanneman, Tom Araya and Kerry King<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Judging from the Metal Forces<\/em> 1990 Readers Poll results published in the last issue, it appears that Slayer<\/a> are still very much the kings of thrash in the eyes of most of our readers as well as the general thrash audience (they came out top in no less than six categories: Best Band, Best Live Band, Best Album, Best Male Singer, Best Guitarist and Best Drummer). Having released an excellent LP in the shape of last year\u2019s Seasons In The Abyss<\/em> and followed it up with some ripping live work both in Europe and the States, it\u2019s certainly no surprise to this writer that the Los Angeles quartet are continuing to be hailed as the genre\u2019s finest.<\/p>\n

While there are many factors that make Slayer the killer thrash act that they are, few would disagree that the unique drumming style of Dave Lombardo is at the very core of what makes this brutal thrash machine tick. His skin beating, while not the fastest or the flashiest, is easily the most solid and recognisable within the current thrash genre.<\/p>\n

However, despite the fact that he is continuously hailed as the best thrash sticksman alive, Dave Lombardo very rarely talks to the metal media (to date, only a couple of interviews with the drummer have ever been published). Whether or not this is by his own choice is unclear, but the fact remains that Dave Lombardo has kept a remarkably low profile in the press throughout Slayer\u2019s nine-year existence.<\/p>\n

When Metal Forces<\/em> caught up with Slayer at the Montreal Verdun Auditorium this past February (in the midst of their North American trek with Testament), we were granted a special opportunity to sit down with Dave Lombardo and discuss his role in one of metal\u2019s most original and controversial acts. What we learned was that behind this hyper, relentless drum machine, lies an exceptionally intelligent human being as well as one of the most sincere guys you\u2019d ever want to meet. His comments about Slayer\u2019s music and his band mates, while certain to raise a few eyebrows, offer a rare glimpse into the mind of this extraordinarily talented musician.<\/p>\n

I know you don\u2019t do that many interviews. Is this by choice or do you just never get approached to do any? \u201cWell, the problem was,\u201d explains the drummer. \u201cIn Europe I was doing interviews and the journalists over there, a lot of them, were against what Jeff (Hanneman, guitar) was writing. So, they would condemn me and get down my throat for something that Jeff did. And of course, I know how to answer some of the questions that pertain to the music, but some of the stuff is getting really bad because it has to do with murder and stuff like that, and some magazines were really offended by that stuff. So I was taking the shit for them. What they, Jeff, Kerry (King, guitar) and Tom (Araya, vocals\/bass), deserve to be getting, I was getting. And it\u2019s like \u2018Hey…\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how do you feel about Slayer\u2019s lyrics then? \u201cI don\u2019t mind them, because it\u2019s a picture being painted in their minds through way of music to where you could picture stuff… what\u2019s going on. Really, all we\u2019re doing is describing what it is, what it\u2019s like. We\u2019re not saying it\u2019s good, we\u2019re not saying it\u2019s bad, we\u2019re just showing you what it\u2019s about. Just like somebody making a movie, it\u2019s not for it, it\u2019s not against it, it\u2019s your own opinion. All it is is just an art form of music. Music is an art.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Dave Lombardo<\/em><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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So what do you think about kids that buy your records and misinterpret some of the stuff that\u2019s being said to where they go out and actually commit some of these acts? \u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019re educated enough to go out and buy a record if they think like that. Because they\u2019ve gotta sit down and read the lyrics and know what it\u2019s about, and know that it\u2019s just music, and know that it\u2019s entertainment. It\u2019s something to make you feel good. No matter what it says, the music should make you feel good. That\u2019s what these kids are getting out of it. They don\u2019t care really what it says. Even though it does say some bad things, it still makes them feel good, \u2019cause it\u2019s just the way the music is. But I just think they\u2019re too young… if they feel that way, that they have to \u2018Go do this, go do that\u2019, they\u2019re misinterpreting the whole Slayer thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how do you feel about the whole censorship issue, then? Do you think that stickering albums and letting the parents monitor what their kids are listening to is the right way to approach it? \u201cWell, the stickering… I really don\u2019t mind it. I\u2019m not for it, I\u2019m not against it. It looks kinda neat on the band\u2019s part, \u2018Oh look, they\u2019re censoring our stuff\u2019! You know, it\u2019s kinda funny. Because really, on the part of the band members, it\u2019s like, what\u2019s so wrong with it? Look at how we are. We\u2019re no different than any other kids, we just have the talent to do this. So, really, I don\u2019t mind the stickering; it\u2019s just like a joke, it\u2019s funny. What is it gonna do?\u201d<\/p>\n

How do your parents feel about you playing in a band as controversial as Slayer? \u201cThey really enjoy it. When my dad started hearing from other people about what we were supposed to be like, he came up to me and told me, \u2018Hey, this is weird, what is this? What are you doing here?\u2019 And I told him, \u2018Hey, Dad, just don\u2019t worry about it, it\u2019s not bad, there\u2019s nothing wrong with it\u2019. So, then as time goes on, he just ignores the people. When they tell him, \u2018Oh, he plays in a Satanic band\u2019, he goes, \u2018Get out of here, I know my son better than that\u2019. So, my parents are fine. They don\u2019t mind it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

You are considered to be an integral part of the Slayer sound as well as probably the finest thrash drummer there is. How do you react when people put you on such a pedestal? \u201cI\u2019m definitely flattered, because I never thought that I\u2019d see the day when I would be considered that. I still look up to other drummers; for example, the guy in Faith No More (Mike Bordin). He\u2019s really good, he does stuff that I can sit there and go, \u2018Wow, I can relate to that\u2019. I appreciate it in the fans\u2019 part. It took a lot of hard work to get where I\u2019m at, but still, even with all the magazines and fans saying all this nice stuff, I keep thinking, \u2018I gotta work harder\u2019, so it\u2019s like non-stop. Everybody said, \u2018Reign In Blood<\/em>, wow, that\u2019s as far as you could go\u2019. And then we came out with South Of Heaven<\/em><\/a> and it was like, \u2018That\u2019s as far as you could go.\u2019 And now with Seasons In The Abyss<\/em>, everybody\u2019s saying, \u2018No, this can\u2019t be it\u2019. They say I always come up with something to top what I did the time before, which I\u2019m glad about. I guess I\u2019m just expanding or just growing up or something like that. I just work hard at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you ever play along to records? \u201cYeah. When I first started playing drums, all I did was just listen to records and play along. I got books, laid them out on my bed, sat on the edge of my bed and played on the books. That\u2019s how I learned. And I listened to Kiss, I listened to Led Zeppelin<\/a>… this was like early, early days. Then I started getting into more harder rock, then I got into Judas Priest, then Iron Maiden, and then after that, I threw all that away and I got into punk. But during that time, from Led Zeppelin to Kiss to probably Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, I was practicing on a bed on boxes… boxes, books, whatever, anything that could get a good sound.”<\/p>\n

A lot of people, when they want to make fun of this kind of music, say that playing fast is easy, that anyone can play fast. Do you find that, in your experience, playing fast is easier or harder than playing at more conventional tempos? \u201cWell, it depends on what you\u2019re used to. I\u2019m used to playing fast, and now, recently… all the way until the Reign In Blood<\/em> days, we played fast. Then we started slowing down a little bit with South Of Heaven<\/em>, that was a little bit, you know… it was okay. And now, we\u2019re getting a little bit faster again. My problem was, I didn\u2019t keep a good slow beat; I sped up, I slowed down, and that\u2019s not good. You\u2019re supposed to keep a steady beat throughout the entire song, if the song is slow. I had to practice on that. I think that was hard until I practiced with a metronome, that ticking time thing. I practiced that just for two months. Boom, I got my timing, no problem. Now I can play an entire show, play the slow songs at a good steady beat without speeding up. I\u2019m aware of it now, because I was catching myself, \u2018Wow, I\u2019m speeding up. What am I doing?\u2019 It\u2019s a lot easier now playing slow and fast. Now, for the people that say playing fast is easy, I would like them to sit behind my drum riser and watch me play for an hour and a half and see if they could do it. I find it very hard for myself doing it. Sometimes, I\u2019m like, \u2018C\u2019mon, when is this show gonna end? I\u2019m so tired\u2019. We have twelve shows in a row, and this is the third show, before we have a day off. My arms are dead tired. I don\u2019t have pressure in my hands. I can\u2019t squeeze a beer bottle cap off. It is hard. I don\u2019t know how anybody could say otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kerry King<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Do you ever find Slayer\u2019s music to be limiting to you as a musician? Do you wish that you had more room to try different things and expand your abilities? \u201cYeah, I\u2019d like to try other things, but Slayer is Slayer, you can only go so far with Slayer. I would like to try other bands. I would love to try to play with Robert Plant or some type of music like that. I feel like I could really add a lot to his music. Now I hear that Zeppelin is coming back, and it\u2019s like a dream in my mind to say, \u2018Please. I\u2019m writing you a nice letter, blah, blah, blah, I would love to play for you guys. At least give me a shot. I know I could give you what you need. I know the style of drumming that you want, the back-beat. I know the rhythm that you want\u2019. So, I\u2019ve always wanted to play with somebody else, something to just put under my belt, just for the experience of it. There are other goals. You\u2019ve accomplished one thing already, so it\u2019s like, \u2018C\u2019mon, I\u2019ve accomplished this, and now I wanna go on to something else\u2019. But not actually leave Slayer, you know, just on my free time. But Slayer\u2019s free time is so much; you know, between albums and tours, there\u2019s like two years. I\u2019d like to do something else in between; that would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Would you say that you\u2019re just as into playing with Slayer as you\u2019ve always been? \u201cOh yeah! Definitely! In fact, a little more, too, because we\u2019ve gotten bigger. Now, there are more kids into it, so I feel like playing harder and playing better. And now that you see other people enjoying it, you enjoy it more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you find it surprising that Slayer has achieved the kind of success that you have in spite of the sheer brutality of your music? I remember Kerry King saying in an old interview that he could not see Slayer ever getting a major label deal unless something drastic took place. Obviously something drastic did happen? \u201cYeah, it\u2019s not that we\u2019ve changed, because I don\u2019t think Slayer has changed, but it\u2019s just become more acceptable. More people are getting used to that style of music. If it wasn\u2019t for Metallica then… they\u2019ve always been like, maybe a year or two ahead of us, they\u2019ve gained success before us, and hopefully we\u2019ll get it this time too. It\u2019s just a ladder that you climb.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you expect to get this kind of success when you first formed the band? \u201cNo, but there was always something weird in the back of my mind, like I was gonna make it. It was just something weird. Playing in a band and success was just always with me. I always had it inside. It\u2019s like \u2018I\u2019m gonna do it, I\u2019m gonna do it\u2019. No matter how many fights I had with my parents saying (imitating his mother\u2019s voice) \u2018You\u2019re not gonna do it, you\u2019re not gonna make it, get a job, cut your hair\u2019, no matter how much stuff they told me, I sat in my room and it was like, \u2018I\u2019m gonna do it someday\u2019. So, I was always determined. Then, when I got into Slayer, all that just went away and all I did was just play, play, play. And next thing I know, here I am ten years later, ever since we started Slayer, nine years actually, and it\u2019s pretty big. It\u2019s pretty cool.”<\/p>\n

You\u2019re renowned for your double-bass technique. I remember how shocked I was when I heard the double-bass break in \u2018Angel Of Death\u2019 back in 1986. At the time, it was by far the fastest double-bass that I\u2019d ever heard. \u201cYeah. But now, I\u2019m sure there are a lot of other drummers who can play at the same speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did you develop your double-bass technique? Did you just sit on your own and try to work on making it as fast as it possibly can be? \u201cWell, how that \u2018Angel Of Death\u2019 part came out was I was doing drum solos at one time, and I would be playing and playing, and then all of a sudden I\u2019d just stop and do a quick double-bass thing, and then play some more. And Kerry caught onto that. It was like, \u2018Yeah. I got this song, let\u2019s break it and do that double-bass thing, and then go back to the chorus\u2019. And I go, \u2018Okay, let\u2019s work it out\u2019. So we worked it out, and that was the ending of \u2018Angel Of Death\u2019. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever told that story to anyone either!<\/p>\n

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\u201cRecently, though, I\u2019ve been having a bit of a problem. Around, like 1988 or 1989, I started stuttering with my double-bass playing. It was like, \u2018What\u2019s wrong with me?\u2019 So I was getting scared, \u2019cause I had gotten into an accident about a week before I started playing really lousy. Not my arms, but just my legs; the really fast double-bass I just couldn\u2019t do it anymore. And still today I\u2019m working on it real hard; I gotta practice a lot. But I just realised that I\u2019m getting older, my muscles are starting to relax a little more. I\u2019m not as hyped up as I used to be when I was a little kid, when I was 20, 21 years old. I\u2019m not like that anymore. So now, what I gotta do is warm-up before I play, stretch, I gotta do little exercises. I can\u2019t just go from the bus bunk \u2013 sometimes, when I\u2019m sleeping \u2013 to, you know, \u2018Dave, you\u2019re going on in fifteen minutes\u2019. \u2018Oh, okay\u2019, put all my clothes on, go onstage and play. I can\u2019t do that anymore. I guess you just get older. You gotta keep in shape more as you get older.\u201d<\/p>\n

I remember seeing the first couple of Slayer shows after you rejoined them in April 1987 and it seemed like all the songs were played slower and there was a longer break between tracks. \u201cYeah, I was like (acting like he\u2019s passing out), \u2018I\u2019m not used to all this\u2019. Four months and I did not touch a pair of drum sticks. It was like, \u2018Okay, you get back into the band, we start playing in a week\u2019. So, I had a week to practice, and that was it. And I wasn\u2019t ready for it. It takes time. It\u2019s like a runner. A runner runs around the block. Runs once, and he\u2019s tired. And then, the next day, he goes out, runs it again, \u2018Ooh, I could do two laps this time\u2019, so he keeps on going. Next thing you know, he runs around the block ten times and he doesn\u2019t feel anything. It\u2019s the same thing with me. When I first started playing, I\u2019m like, \u2018Give me a little more time to rest between songs. Like right now, tonight, the show is gonna be just one song after another. And it\u2019s not gonna be any problem.”<\/p>\n

When you left the band back in December 1986, there was never really an official explanation as to why you decided to leave. A lot of rumours were going around… \u201cDo you know some of the rumours? Cause I\u2019d like to hear them. I think we\u2019ve heard the worst of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was the worst you heard? \u201cThat I caught my wife and Tom in the back of the bus. And that\u2019s why I left the band. Ha! Ha!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ha! Ha! Actually, I heard that you wanted to bring your wife (Theresa) out on the road, and the other guys didn\u2019t want her around. Personally, I think it\u2019s understandable that you\u2019d want to bring the person that you want to share your life with out on the road with you, because being away from each other for so long can put a serious strain on a relationship. \u201cYeah, and this was right when we got married too. We got married in July 1986, and I think we left on tour in October or November. I wasn\u2019t ready for that; living apart from my wife. And besides that, I told her before we were married, that there was gonna be a time when she was gonna come with me, \u2019cause I\u2019ve been with her nine years, as long as I\u2019ve been with the band… she saw us playing the first time the band ever played a club. She saw me play with this band at a party in a backyard. So that\u2019s how far me and her go back; about the same time as me and Slayer.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, for that reason they didn\u2019t want her around. It was like, \u2018Why? You\u2019ve known her for years. You\u2019ll bring the sluts and the scumbags on the bus, or whatever, they\u2019re with whoever comes around, and I have my person I wanna be with every night. What\u2019s the difference?\u2019 So, they didn\u2019t approve of that. So then, when I went home, none of my bills were paid, my rent was overdue, nobody was taking care of me, I was being treated like shit. And I was like an equal member of the band for so long. So then, I just got a band meeting, and I said, \u2018Hey, I quit. I\u2019m tired of this. I\u2019m gonna get a job, cut my hair. I\u2019m tired of living this lifestyle\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Were you serious when you said that? \u201cYeah. You saw me with my short hair and everything, right? I got a nice job. I was living fine. I was happy. Because at that time, I was really mad. I was able to make the same amount of money with me working, both of us working, I didn\u2019t have to play in the band. I was so mad at the situation, the way I was treated, the way Theresa was treated after all these years, that I left, with no regrets, no nothing. Then time went by and I started getting phone calls from Kerry. He called me and said, \u2018Hey, you wanna do Europe? I\u2019ll call you in two days\u2019. I was like, \u2018Nope\u2019. And then Tom\u2019s brother, Johnny, he\u2019s on tour with us, he\u2019s a guitar tech and bass tech for Jeff and Tom, he was coming around and asking, \u2018What are you doing?\u2019 So, there were people keeping an eye on me, on what I was doing. I had a chance to join Megadeth<\/a>, but I didn\u2019t join them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, they asked you to? \u201cYeah, things were gonna be prepared to, but then I went to go see them and they looked in bad shape. It was the time when they wanted to replace Gar Samuelson. They were all involved really badly in drugs, and I don\u2019t believe, really, in getting that involved in drugs. They were wasting their lives away. So I was like, \u2018No way, I ain\u2019t joining this\u2019. So I go, \u2018Forget it\u2019. That was it. That was my chance; the only band I felt could have fit my needs at that time playing drums. So then, as time went by, Rick Rubin, our producer and record company owner, was calling me up every other night: \u2018Dave, what do you want?\u2019 \u2018Well, you know what I want. I want my wife to come on the road with me\u2019. \u2018Okay, you got that. The guys said it\u2019s okay. No problem\u2019. I go, \u2018No man, I don\u2019t wanna deal with that\u2019. \u2018Why?\u2019 \u2018They treated me like shit. Why am I gonna go back to somebody that treated me like shit?\u2019 So then it kept on, and every two or three nights he would call me up and we would talk for hours and hours and hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, me and Theresa were at this restaurant, we were sitting around, drinking strawberry margaritas by the beach. We\u2019re like sitting there and she goes, \u2018David, listen to me. They\u2019re offering you anything you want. They\u2019re saying, \u2018We\u2019ll pay your bills, you\u2019ll live on a salary, on so much amount a year, and I get to go on the road. And everything is taken care of\u2019. I go, \u2018No, I don\u2019t wanna talk about it\u2019. Because I was really hurt at the fact… they\u2019ve known her for years. I mean, it\u2019s not like she came around the other day, I met her and that\u2019s it, here she is. She doesn\u2019t bother anybody, she\u2019s quiet, she doesn\u2019t bring her curling iron around and set it up in the dressing room, like some of these girls these guys bring around. They think they own the entire dressing room, they go, \u2018Oh, yeah, we\u2019re gonna get this…\u2019 It\u2019s like, you don\u2019t wanna hear that sometimes. She\u2019s really quiet. She gets ready before we leave, and that\u2019s it. Nobody ever sees her getting ready or using her hairspray in the dressing room, like they were complaining at one time that they thought that she was going to do. So, I go, \u2018No, no, no, no…\u2019 I told her no.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, finally she goes, \u2018David, look what you\u2019re doing\u2019. So I gave them a call. Next day, Rick Rubin came out, picks me up, we went to the studio… it was like I never left. It was like, I went and played… boom, we were there. It was like… great. And they were like, it felt great for them, because what I heard, T.J. (Scaglione, Lombardo\u2019s temporary replacement during Slayer\u2019s early 1987 US jaunt with W.A.S.P.) wasn\u2019t appropriate enough for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah, I think the whole experience on that W.A.S.P. tour probably made them respect your abilities more. \u201cYeah, I was really mad, because when I told them that I quit, it was like nothing. They were like, \u2018Oh, really. Okay\u2019. They ignored me the entire time that I was there. I was ready for a fight, I thought they were gonna fight me, I had a knife in the car, I was ready to go… nobody was gonna touch me. I started talking about their next tour. \u2018Wow, you guys got another drummer ready?\u2019 It\u2019s like it didn\u2019t even hurt them; they didn\u2019t even say anything to me. And then, towards the end of the meeting, I go, \u2018You know what, you guys? This was easier than I expected. It was great. See ya!\u2019 Went to my car, took off. Never saw me for the next four months. So, that\u2019s the way I did it. That\u2019s the way I believe anybody should work. If you feel like anybody is taking advantage of you or doing the wrong thing, do anything you can to fuck them, and then let them sit there and realise what they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

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So, I assume their attitude towards you has changed since you came back into the band? \u201cYeah. In fact, not only from the band. I mean, the crew were even at one time treating me bad. In fact, the tour manager would be treating Theresa bad. She would be sitting in a corner, being quiet, and the manager would come up, sit on her lap, and say \u2018Move, you don\u2019t belong here\u2019. And she would go, \u2019David, they did that to me. Why are they doing this to me?\u2019 A lot of that shit pissed me off. But, yes, it\u2019s better now. The crew, they\u2019re really respectful, which is what I like. That\u2019s the way I am, the way my personal way is. That\u2019s the way I was brought up. If nobody likes that, just don\u2019t come around me. It\u2019s just the way I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you think that the other guys\u2019 insensitivity towards your feelings is rooted in the fact that you guys have never been the best of friends? \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019ve always had my life. I don\u2019t contribute to any of the music. Why? Because I think that they do a great job as it is. They don\u2019t need my input. I could save my own ideas for somebody that probably could appreciate it someday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you come up with all the drum beats and rolls? \u201cYeah, the rolls. What they do is they do the basic guitar parts. And Jeff, he probably plays drums too, I think. He goes, \u2018Dave, look, do this. Just keep a beat here, and then here\u2019s a break here\u2019. But in between all that, where I put all the tasty stuff in, is when I come in. I come in and do the rolls. I come in and hit the cymbals in the right places. I come in and clean it all up. But Jeff is the one that tells me basically which beat to put where. They just get the basic stuff down drum-wise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you think that you contribute enough to the songs to where you should get a songwriting credit for it? \u201cYes, I do. And I feel like I\u2019m gonna do that on the next album. I guess I\u2019m the problem causer in the band, \u2019cause now I\u2019m getting a little bit tired of listening to the music and realising what they do. Okay, they do the guitar parts, they do the guitar leads, they do the guitar riffs, they put everything together, but I feel like, on some songs, I\u2019ve worked so hard on it, there\u2019s so much drum rolls, there\u2019s so much things, it\u2019s like, \u2018Man, I should be getting paid for that shit\u2019. The way I\u2019m gonna do it is, \u2018Okay, how do you want the song? Let me hear the song\u2019. So they play the song, Jeff plays it, and I\u2019m gonna play it like Jeff does. \u2018You want a drum roll? You pay me. You don\u2019t like it? Don\u2019t pay me\u2019. That\u2019s the way the song is gonna be, exactly how he wrote it is the way I\u2019m gonna play it. They don\u2019t like it? What are they gonna do? Kick me out? Go ahead. I don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become that way. I mean, I don\u2019t have a big head or my head up my ass to do that to them, but you gotta realise that they\u2019re different human beings. I\u2019m treating them the way they would treat me in situations, in any other particular situation. So, it may sound mean the way I\u2019m gonna do that, but really there\u2019s ways they do things that I feel like, \u2018Man, that\u2019s cruel\u2019. So, it\u2019s just the way Slayer is. We don\u2019t get along. That\u2019s the way we do things.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how did you get together with these guys in the first place? \u201cYears and years and years back. I had some friends that played guitar and I played drums, this was when I was like 13, 14 years old, and they said, \u2018Some guy lives down the street\u2019, from where I live, and that was Kerry, \u2018and he plays guitar and he\u2019s really spoiled. His dad buys him like ten guitars, all kinds of different guitars\u2019. So that always stuck in the back of my head. I quit one band that I was in called Sabotage \u2013 not the Sabotage anyone has ever heard, this was a completely different \u2013 because my parents gave me the choice of, \u2018Either get out of the house, or get a job\u2019. So, I was in high school and I had to get a job. What am I gonna do? I wasn\u2019t ready to live by myself, I didn\u2019t have the responsibility or anything, so I got a job working at a pizza place, delivering pizzas. And I\u2019d drive by Kerry\u2019s house, and I\u2019d see Kerry wandering along. I mean, I didn\u2019t say, \u2018Hey Kerry, hey, dude, you play guitar, right?\u2019 \u2018Yeah\u2019. \u2018Well, I play drums. Let\u2019s get together some day\u2019. He goes, \u2018Come over one day and check out my guitars\u2019. So we exchanged phone numbers and I went by one day. He had a lot of songs that he knew how to play, a long list. So then me and him got together, we were in my garage, we played two or three times, and he goes, \u2018Yeah, I got a guitarist, he\u2019s gonna play with us\u2019. So that was Jeff. He dug up Jeff from somewhere. I don\u2019t know where we got him from? So then, as time went by, it was just me, Jeff and Kerry playing our favourite songs… three or four of them. Then Kerry goes, \u2018I know this singer guy named Tom\u2019. Kerry and Tom played together in another band before called Quits until the band didn\u2019t play anymore. Then Kerry started getting another band together, it was us three, and then Kerry got Tom.<\/p>\n

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Slayer 1983 (l-r): Kerry King, Tom Araya (back), Jeff Hanneman and Dave
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\u201cSo we started practicing at Tom\u2019s house and started learning songs. Tom, this stuff was new to him; rock, heavy rock like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, was all new to him. Then we were doing cover songs. He started learning the songs, and we played our first show; we practiced I think a month before. We played a Battle Of The Bands at the city park, and ever since then it\u2019s been non-stop. That was back in… I think October 1981. We played throughout 1982, then we released Show No Mercy<\/em><\/a> in December 1983, when I graduated from high school.\u201d<\/p>\n

So you were never really the best of friends? \u201cNo. I never hung out with Kerry. I tried every now and then to hang out with all the guys, but… it wasn\u2019t my thing. The way I function is different. Then I met Theresa, and it went on from there. It was just me and her… that was it. I had the band, yeah, I played, I practiced, we talked and stuff like that, but I never really cared to go out with them; it wasn\u2019t really a buddy-buddy type thing. The only buddy-buddies at first were Kerry and Jeff. Then they kinda, like, went their own way. And then now, it\u2019s Jeff and Tom that are really, like, friends. Me and Kerry really don\u2019t get along. Me and Jeff, it\u2019s so-so. But me and Tom we get along a little better than the other two. I hold little grudges. Every now and then, it burns me inside when I remember things that happened before. It\u2019s like, \u2018Ooohh…\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do people ever get disappointed or surprised when they meet you \u2019cause they\u2019re expecting this \u2018demon\u2019, really nasty kinda guy? \u201cYeah, they do. They go, \u2018You\u2019re a hell of a lot nicer than I thought\u2019. Last night in Toronto I did a radio interview, and they were going, \u2018Man, it blows me away\u2019. I go, \u2018Man, I\u2019m a human being. How do you think I\u2019m gonna be?\u2019 If I was anything else, I would be a fake. Yeah, you could be evil and mean, but there\u2019s enough crap going on in the world to contribute to more crap. You don\u2019t need it. The music, it\u2019s entertainment. That\u2019s as far as it goes with me. The other members of the band, they could probably be whatever they wanna be. That\u2019s just the way I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, some rather revealing thoughts from Dave Lombardo. As Slayer end their US tour with Testament, they have now been confirmed along with Megadeth, Anthrax and Mot\u00f6rhead for the Clash Of The Titans US tour beginning in May. Unfortunately, their much rumoured European tour with Sepultura will not now take place, so it could be quite some time before Slayer are back on British soil. But, as ever, we\u2019ll keep you posted.<\/p>\n

Interview taken from Metal Forces, Issue 60 (1991)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SLAYER – A Man For All Seasons Borivoj Krgin Metal Forces, Issue 60 (1991) Slayer (l-r): Dave Lombardo, Jeff Hanneman, Tom Araya and Kerry King Judging from the Metal Forces 1990 Readers Poll results published in the last issue, it appears that Slayer are still very much the kings of thrash in the eyes of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-slayer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5680","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=5680"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11782,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5680\/revisions\/11782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}