Dave Lombardo Won’t Entertain the Notion of a Slayer Reunion: “I Don’t Look Back”
Earlier this week, we learned that ex-Slayer guitarist Kerry King could soon be slinking out of retirement with the formation of an entirely new band. If that’s the case, he’d join the likes of Dave Lombardo and Gary Holt, who have both found a professional life after the iconic thrash metal band finally called it quits in 2019.
Ever the musical busy body, we’ve known for a while what Lombardo’s been up to, mostly because he won’t take a fucking day off! From Misfits to Dead Cross to Empire State Bastard and his solo shit, Lombardo’s all over the place. And during a recent appearance on the Mark And Me podcast, the drummer said the prolific nature of his career means he’s not really willing to even consider a Slayer reunion, since it’s ultimately a distraction.
“I really don’t wanna answer anything like that because what ends up happening is that the focus right now would be [my new project] Empire State Bastard and my future, and the future, which is… I think, a big part of my personal success is that I don’t look back. I’m always striving to better myself musically in every way possible, so answering a question like that sometimes takes away of what our focus is on right now. So, respectfully, I’m gonna have to decline [to answer] that question.”
That’s largely been Lombardo’s answer to the reunion question since Slayer ended. Remember, he’d already been out of the band for six years when the final tour came to a close, so he’s had plenty of time to move on.
Still, he’s not afraid to look back to the times he had in Slayer. During the interview, he was asked if he was aware just how big Slayer was growing as it was happening, but it turns out when you’re in one of the most important metal bands of all time, Lombardo said he opted to focus on his playing.
“I was caught up in my own personal turmoil. So a lot of it I really didn’t see or really sense the magnitude of what the band was doing. But now looking back, I do. But at the time, you really didn’t. Yeah, you saw it get bigger and bigger. But there were, at that time, a lot of questions, but then there were times where I just went with the flow. I just didn’t care. I just played and just enjoyed the ride.”
As we all know in the rock and metal world, it’s incredibly rare for a band to truly stay retired forever *cough*Mötley Crüe*cough*Ozzy*cough*Kiss*cough* but when it comes to Slayer, it’s very likely to stick. Or at least, it’s likely Lombardo won’t be part of it.
