Former SLAYER Drummer Officially Joins SYSTEMATIC!

Former SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph has officially joined San Francisco Bay Area's SYSTEMATIC. As exclusively reported here on January 4th, Bostaph (who had also played with FORBIDDEN and TESTAMENT) has joined SYSTEMATIC as a replacement for Shaun Bannon, who was forced to leave the group last summer after sustaining an arm injury during the making of the "Deep Colors Bleed" video.

Bostaph is no stranger to the SYSTEMATIC guys, having played with the latter band's guitarist Adam Ruppell in a previous project prior to re-joining SLAYER in 1996. Paul, who has reportedly chopped off most of his long hair, played his first gig as a member of SYSTEMATIC on New Year's Eve (December 31st) in Modesto, California at a show sponsored by local rock station KMRQ (Rock 96.7).

Here is an update on the band's activities, as posted by Ruppel:

“Hey Kids,

“Just writing to keep everyone up to date with what's going on. First and foremost, the band is writing our asses off. Our goal is to have thirty songs to choose from to make the next album. So far the material is great. If I can say anything about it, it's that it's SYSTEMATIC, but a lot more focused. I say that because the band is now more focused than ever, but I guess a year and a half on the road will do that to you. We are looking at getting into the studio sometime in March, and as a promise to our fans, we will make a great record for us, you and no one else. There is a lot to look forward to in the world of SYSTEMATIC.

We are also proud to say that SYSTEMATIC finally have a drummer. Old family member Paul Bostaph, who was with us in the beginning, is now back and putting an end to our search for a drummer. Paul is a great guy and an amazing drummer, so SYSTEMATIC fans have a lot to look forward to. We would also like to say thanks to Larry 'the kid' Horn for filling in and doing a great job. Larry is family now and we wish him the best, he deserves it. I also wanted to let everyone know that Larry got ripped off the picture in Metal Edge is Larry and not Shaun.

“In not so positive news, long time friend and bassist, Nick St. Dennis has departed ways with SYSTEMATIC. Nick will be moving on to pursue guitar playing. Nick, who was originally a guitarist, joined SYSTEMATIC playing the bass. As every guitar player out there knows, it's a hard thing to set your true desires aside. We do thank Nick for doing the job he did and for being a part of the family. We all know that family is family and we will always be bound together, offering helping hands to each other at any point. We would all like to wish Nick the very best in music and in life. Go get em' brother!!

“Let's all look forward to the future and as promised SYSTEMATIC will deliver. Stay up to date on our website and we will make sure we keep you all posted on things to come!

“Adam R.— SYSTEMATIC”