SLAYER's PAUL BOSTAPH On Internet Criticism: 'People Are Pretty Brutal With Their Opinions Sometimes'

SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph spoke to Billboard.com about the differences between when he first initial replaced founding drummer Dave Lombardo in 1992 and his return to the group in 2013.

"It was very intimidating [that first time around. But] The Internet did not exist," he said. "There was no social media. If people didn't like [the switch] we weren't hearing about it all the time. We only heard through word of mouth, and I just had to go out and deliver to shut everybody up." This time around, however, "people are pretty brutal with their opinions sometimes, so I guess you have to have thicker skin now," he continued. "At least I had been with the band for 10 years when I left, so I had equal tenure as the drummer at that point. I have a history of recording and touring with the band, so I think that's actually helped win people over — again."

Regarding SLAYER's forthcoming album, "Repentless", which is due on September 11, Bostaph said: "We've been grinding on this record for two years. When I came back to the band, we were supposed to go in the studio, and for two years we were, like, 'Yeah, this album's gonna come out some day.' The good thing was we really kept working on the songs and refining them. And I had a huge advantage, probably, over most people who would come in the room 'cause I've worked with Kerry [King, guitar] a million times before. When I joined the band the first time, Kerry and I roomed together. We shared an apartment, and I learned how he likes things. So when he shows me a song, I almost know what he wants for it; 99 percent of the time I'm right. So I think the dynamics of him trusting me and trusting my opinion when it comes to the songs really helped."

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. King blamed the split on "misinformation — not coming from SLAYER." He told Artisan News: "I feel bad for Dave, because he made some really bad choices based on listening to some really bad advice."

Lombardo told the "Thrash Zone" show back in July 2014 that he "worked on all of the songs that are going to be on the new [SLAYER] album with Kerry." He added: "They've been working on that album… shit… for years now. 'Implode', their new radio hit, is basically the guitar tracks that were done during my session, but they've removed my drums and added Paul's."