DAVE LOMBARDO: 'If I Feel Something Is Not Right Within The Band, I Have No Hesitation To Get Up And Walk Away'

Former SLAYER and current PHILM drummer Dave Lombardo was recently interviewed by Shor Bazaar, Pakistan's first international artist management services. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether it was easy for him to let go of something that he helped create when he first left SLAYER back in 1986:

Lombardo: "I'm a firm believer that if you're not happy in a situation, you need to take yourself away from that situation. So, for me, if I feel that something is not right within the band, I have no hesitation to get up and walk away. I'm just confident that way. I take no shit. [Laughs]"

On whether he felt he was being taken for granted when he first left SLAYER almost three decades ago:

Lombardo: "It's not [that I was being] taken for granted, it's just I had responsibilities to meet. And if I'm playing for an organization and they're just not paying you because you're playing all these festivals, you're playing all these shows, you're on tour, and you're not seeing any money, something's wrong. So you just get up and walk away. And shortly after that, [SLAYER's then-producer] Rick Rubin was contacting me and telling me to go back to the band."

On whether his original exit from SLAYER was partly caused by the fact that the group turned into an organization where the business became more important than the chemistry between the original members of the band:

Lombardo: "No. I feel what happened was they realized that… or at least the producer realized that each and every one of us were as important as the other, each individual member was as important as [any other member], especially in a group like SLAYER, and he wanted to see the band continue to succeed and he felt that the four original members are key to making this music sound that SLAYER was."

On where he found the musical inspiration and the strength to leave SLAYER after spending so much time playing in the band:

Lombardo: "I've always been a person that has different projects and different works — I always like working with different styles of music. I released the first PHILM album in 2012, and I was still with SLAYER [at that time]. So, when things like that happen, it happens for a reason, and you just go with it. And luckily I had a band and I already had more music to release, and I felt it was important for to continue to write music and record for the fans, to show them that I wasn't gonna go away; I'm still an artist that's relevant. I just do what I love, and part of that is recording and writing music."

Lombardo was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the band's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. He has since been replaced by Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the band.

PHILM released its sophomore album, "Fire From The Evening Sun", on September 16 (one day earlier internationally) via UDR. The band's lineup is completed by guitarist/vocalist Gerry Paul Nestler (CIVIL DEFIANCE),and bassist Francisco "Pancho" Eduardo Tomaselli (WAR).