PHILM Releases First Post-DAVE LOMBARDO Song

Experimental post-hardcore triumvirate PHILM — which now features Gerry Nestler (CIVIL DEFIANCE) on vocals and guitar, Pancho Tomaselli (WAR, PROJECT N-FIDELIKAH) on bass, and Anderson Quintero on drums — will release a ten-inch vinyl EP in early 2017. The Grammy Award-winning Venezuelan-born Quintero replaced PHILM co-founder Dave Lombardo (SLAYER, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES),who left in early 2016.

The official lyric video for a new PHILM song, "The Seventh Sun", can be seen below.

Nestler said: "We've just licensed the artwork for the EP and are getting everything ready for the pressing plant but we won't have copies available until the new year... At the same time, we wanted to give the fans a taste of what's to come, so we decided to leak a track.

"'The Seventh Sun' is one of the last things we recorded in L.A. with engineer/producer Chris Sorem prior to our moving to the East Coast. I think the cut is proof positive that PHILM is as vital and strong as ever and that we've made a smooth transition with Anderson on board.

"The EP is a continuation of what we've done musically on our first two full-length albums but at the same time, we're not shying away from exploring new ground.

"The song 'Time Burner' will probably throw some people for a loop because it's a very jazz-oriented, piano-based piece, something we've never done within the framework of this band but can do now with Anderson on drums."

Nestler previousy shot down reports of PHILM's demise, saying: "I think the quote from Dave [Lombardo] back in January was, 'I did not exit PHILM, I ended PHILM.' Well, Pancho and I decided to carry on without him, just like the original PHILM carried on without Dave and released an album in 2002, albeit under a different name, KKLEQ MUZZIL. So, no, PHILM is not over — we are alive and kicking!"

The origins of PHILM go back to the late '90s when the CIVIL DEFIANCE duo of Gerry Nestler and Juan Perez teamed up with Dave Lombardo, then a member of GRIP INC. The trio recorded demos and played shows around L.A. before Lombardo got the call to rejoin SLAYER in 2002. Nestler and Lombardo re-connected in late 2009 and decided to reform PHILM, adding bassist Pancho Tomaselli to complete the lineup. They subsequently signed with Mike Patton's label, Ipecac Records, for the release of their 2012 debut album, "Harmonic". The follow-up, "Fire From The Evening Sun", was issued in the fall of 2014 via Germany's UDR Music.

During an interview on the "Let There Be Talk" podcast with rock and roll comedian Dean Delray, Lombardo declined to reveal the reasons for his exit from PHILM, telling Delray: "I'm not gonna talk about it. They didn't want me to promote the band while I was with them, and I'm certainly not gonna do it when I'm without them." He added: "I don't wanna talk about it anymore. Yeah, so I just said, 'See ya!'"

According to Lombardo, he was also told that he had to change his playing style to accommodate PHILM: "[They said] 'Don't play hard. We want you to play a little softer.' I said, 'Nope.'"

In a 2014 interview with Journey Of A Frontman, Lombardo was full of praise for his PHILM bandmates, explaining that "it felt like a rejuvenation when I first got the band together in 2010." He went on to say: "When you're in a band for more than twenty years, it becomes a job. There's hardly any communication with bandmembers — you rehearse with the band a couple of days before the tour, then fly back and that's it. You see them on stage but there's really not much to it."