SLAYER's DAVE LOMBARDO: 'I Love Playing Drums And I Love Being On Stage'

Mark Morton of Heavy Metal Examiner recently conducted an interview with SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Heavy Metal Examiner: SLAYER is one of the very few heritage metal bands where fans constantly want to hear new material. I'm sure this doesn't surprise you, but does this put some added responsibility on your shoulders?

Lombardo: I think it's great. It's a positive thing that reaffirms the fact that you've got put new music out. You shouldn't just play all your old shit. Keep creating; keep moving forward.

Heavy Metal Examiner: And because your following is so strong, do you ever feel that SLAYER is no longer given a fair shake by critics? It seems like the populace is at the point now where they collectively say that a Slayer album is great just because it's a SLAYER album, and they don't base their opinion on any of the album's actual merits.

Lombardo: I don't concern myself with people who don't look into it deeply. Everyone has a choice to look into it, hear it, listen to it, and there are people who just don't. It really doesn't concern me.

Heavy Metal Examiner: What do you do to keep the performance from becoming "a job?" Is there anything specific you do to keep things fresh and exciting?

Lombardo: Dude, I love playing drums, and I love being on stage, and I love recording. It's my life… it's been my life all my life, and I don't think it could ever become boring for me. Every job has its downside. For example, being in a band; the travel part of it — getting picked up from your house in a car, going to the airport, getting on a plane, going from the airplane to a van, then going from the van to a hotel. Then you wait until it's time to go to the venue. Then you go to the venue, and you do soundcheck — it gets a little monotonous, all the traveling, and taking these long airplane flights everywhere. Yeah, we do fly business class, which does help a little bit, but it's still the most stressful part about being in a band — the travelling.

Heavy Metal Examiner: Do you actively seek out these additional side projects because you want to become a better drummer?

Lombardo: Not "to become a better drummer," I want to be known for other things. Let's say that everybody knows me from SLAYER. Hey, I don't just play SLAYER; I know how to play other things. That's always been the top of my priority list ever since I left the band in 1992 — to show the world that I am much more than just a metal drummer.

Heavy Metal Examiner: It is also interesting to note that while SLAYER is rooted in its history, it strives to be a forward-looking band. Are there things you proactively try to bring to the table to keep from repeating yourself?

Lombardo: Every album I put out, I give 100%. For me, the goal is to make each song that much better than the previous one, and not to try to perfect yourself. I think with perfection, you lose the spontaneity of your playing, and it becomes very sterile. I try to keep things very loose, and marry the rolls with the guitar riff or the change that's occurring. I guess that's an artistic side of me. I don't try to out-create myself, or create the most complex drum roll or whatever. It has much more to do with "feel" and how those two parts go together — how the drums go together with the music. I like to be one of those drummers who actually add to the music, not one of those guys who sit in a room 24/7 trying to outwit or outplay another drummer. You have to be able to apply what you've done to the music.

Heavy Metal Examiner: Do you ever feel haunted by the shadow of "Reign In Blood"? To most metal fans, that album is heralded as the pinnacle of your achievements.

Lombardo: Hey, it's great; I love it. Let that record haunt me all it wants! You see, bands strive to have a record like that, that becomes the pinnacle or the focal point — THE record to listen to if you want to get into this kind of music. It sets a mood, it's aggressive, and it's brutal. To be a shadow or something negative is the wrong thing to say. I think it's good to have under your belt.

Heavy Metal Examiner: Forgive the tone of this question, but was Tom Araya's recent surgery a sign that you guys are getting older and should consider slowing down a little?

Lombardo: No, the only real wake-up call there was that Tom can't whip his head around like that anymore. You know, Kerry and Jeff still headbang, but it was different what Tom did. He headbanged to get whiplash, and that's what he got...a really bad case of whiplash to the point where he needed surgery. And I think that only developed over the past 2-3 years; I don't think it was something that was slowly developing. He just got more intense with his headbanging, and I think that's what caused it. I've never spoken to him about it, but that's what I think it was.

Read the entire interview from Heavy Metal Examiner.