MORGAN Y. EVANS: People often confuse skill with flash. As a drummer, you’re very skilled but it’s very economic. I don’t think there’s any wasted motion involved.

DAVE LOMBARDO: No wasted motion. There are creative drum rolls here and there but I just focus on what feels right for the song. There’s so little time to put as many rolls as you can in certain little sections and be creative that you can’t waste time on trying to make things complex. You want things to be executed with the least amount of complexity.

MYE: In service of the song, and what not?

DL: Right. What it demands. Maybe a slower piece, yeah, you can get a little creative with it, but the fast stuff…for it to really deliver I think it needs to be simplified.

MYE: The new record, World Painted Blood, reminds me almost of the punkish side of the band that they showed on Undisputed Attitude, which of course you didn’t play on. But there’s some of that side of things, which also hearkens back to the early thrash, but there’s still all the depth of something like Seasons In The Abyss also.

DL: I agree, definitely. Punk was a big influence to this band more than a lot of metal bands of today could probably imagine. What they now listen to isn’t a different style in itself; it is just stuff like themselves and other bands like them that they try to sound like.

MYE: Yeah, it’s interesting you say that because I was just reading about how The Scorpions are doing a farewell tour after over forty years. Obviously they aren’t punk, but what I am getting at is they have their own personality. Which of these new bands could be a hard rock band that survives a long time? Maybe Baroness, I don’t know…but it’s hard to pick out of the current crop because so many bands mimic each other.

DL: Yeah, and they will eventually die out because their music won’t withstand the test of time. That’s what I think is key to a lot of band’s longevity, writing music that is true to themselves and not following any kind of change in genres or fashion or whatever style too much.

MYE: That’s one reason I’ve always been a fan of you, as a drummer, in that you always mention how your repertoire was enriched by more than one type of music. Or talking to an underground band like Tiger Piss and they love a wide variety of stuff so the band has more identity.

DL: Yes. Definitely. I don’t see any true musician or artist who does not take or at least enjoy something other than what they do. I’m not just saying for metalheads, “Oh, you like classical music.” A lot of metalheads like classical, but no, you’ve got to venture off somewhere else, somewhere where maybe your friends might think of you as a little strange or absolutely nuts!

MYE: [laughing] Even something like Elvin Jones, you can’t say he wasn’t so streetwise in another way.

DL: Oh, absolutely. Or some of the later Miles Davis stuff. Because of that person going into another style of music or dabbling somewhere else, they recreate themselves as musicians. A band needs to stay a course in their style, but I think each musician can develop their own thing.

MYE: Slayer is a perfect example of that, because you have a band identity, but it doesn’t mean you don’t have freedom within that. It’s very evident on your records. World Painted Blood feels very emblematic. Not that you haven’t done great stuff in the time between your releases with Slayer. The Gatheringing by Testament was amazing, but what was it like re-opening your life to the Slayer insanity?

DL: For this record or when I got back in the band?

MYE: Just in general. Now you’ve been groovin’ with it again for awhile, but that first feeling of, “Here I am again”.

DL: At first it was a little odd, but then it felt really good to almost recharge the band’s identity in a way. Not that they really needed it, but I think the fans were very receptive and really happy that I was back and it overflowed into the band. To go at it again with this band is a lot of fun and amazing. To remember things we’ve done before and they’ll say, “Hey Dave, remember that time on tour…” and it’s, "Yeah, Jeff. Remember when you turned around and did this to me.” Just laughing and bullshit like that. It’s a great time.

MYE: A friend of mine is old school and he told me about two of the craziest Slayer shows he ever saw. One was February of ’87 at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, New York. You had left the band for a few weeks, I guess, and some guy TJ played. He said there was no one under 21 allowed downstairs and they had almost 500 people in the upstairs balcony and it almost collapsed! Then he said you came back and you were there and over a thousand people squeezed in. He was saying how back then people thought you guys like, ate corpses and only wore black all the time.

DL: I remember that. No, we were just a bunch of punk kids, y’know? We had an attitude and a thirst and liking for horror movies and shit like that.

MYE: Slayer’s tenacity has proven your point of using the shock value for your advantage, but I feel like it never got corny because the music backs it up.

DL: Yeah, because it all revolves around the music. It becomes the image of the band. What you saw in pictures may be the art around the band, but the actual image of the band was that we are normal guys. We didn’t go around wearing make-up or doing some really crazy shit. I don’t know.

MYE: People often talk about Slayer as the most dangerous band and stuff, but what they often fail to mention is how dangerous it is to drive while listening to any of the band’s you’re in, Dave. Slayer, you’ll just drive off the road while rockin’ out too hard. I was in Philly once and we were listening to Fantomas while at some very confusing traffic areas and it was impossible to concentrate well enough. [laughing]

DL: [laughing] Wow. What was the question?

MYE: More of a statement. It’s really hard as a fan of your bands trying to incorporate it into the parts of your life where you need to be responsible.

DL: [laughing] You lose your whole direction and get sidetracked. What the hell just happened?

MYE: You’re really known as a pioneer of double bass. I wanted to ask you this because of your versatility. Novice metal drummers will sometimes lean on double bass as a crutch, but I think it can be learned from your playing that it is prominent but wasn’t the sole thing. You accent things with it.

DL: Right, it’s more the icing on the cake. It’s like decoration. It depends on the song. If a song demands that kind of drive where you would play double bass, that’s fine. It should still drop out at some point, whether it is choruses or verses, just to let the song breathe. It takes more of an artistic mind. You need to use an artistic mind to know where to put it in.

MYE: Do you have any advice for beginning percussionists who are trying to gain their confidence but also walk that fine line where they are looking for their own style?

DL: Don’t be closed-minded when you listen to different music. Find its rhythm and find its pulse and learn from it. Don’t give up. There’s no reason for it. You might get lucky, like some, or you’ll still have the ability to play and maybe you play in the garage after work on Friday or Sunday evening. There’s no reason to ever quit because music is fun and it’s a good challenge and healthy.

MYE: I agree. People get so pent up and playing music can instead of just being an outlet for aggression also can make you a more well-rounded person.

DL: They say music is very beneficial to infants when they are first born, like very soft classical music. For adult humans, it’s good too.

MYE: Although, I have seen some of my metalhead friends who have little Slayer baby outfits and I’m thinking, “That’s kind of fucked up guys”! [laughing]

DL: [chuckling] But it’s kind of cool.

MYE: How was it working on World Painted Blood with producer Greg Fidelman? Going into it ahead of time did you know how you wanted to steer this record or did it just sort of come out like it did?

DL: Whenever I am in a studio and working with a band, I tell them, “This is my sound”. The band is okay with it and then the engineer or producer changes it. On past records, I really didn’t get what I wanted. On this record, Greg was receptive to what I was saying. I told him I like live drums. Big drum sounds that sound natural, where you hear the body of the shell, the body of the drum. He was receptive and at rehearsal he was able to look at my drum set and think about what it is that adds to the Slayer sound. Of course, there’s no muffling and barely any dampening on the bass drums. He knew from being at rehearsal what this band was about, so he was able to capture what has been there the entire time, or at least, with me in the band. I think that’s why when people say, “This album reflects Seasons or is back like the old days,” at that time that was my method of tuning drums. I can’t say that it has to do with just that, because there’s Jeff’s songwriting as well. The drums are similar to how Rick Rubin used to produce, and Rubin used to come in and listen to the drums at rehearsals in their very primitive stage.

MYE: It doesn’t seem like you were just trying to recapture the old records, either. Not that the last few were sleepers, but this new one has something extra.

DL: Understandable. This one has, I think, like a magic that other records that Reign In Blood maybe had, but this one’s different. It has that magic. Okay, there’s bands like AC/DC, they had Highway To Hell where that album has a magic or chemistry to it where from one song to another, that album carries you all the way to the last song. That’s what Reign In Blood had. That’s what this has. There are Pink Floyd albums where all the songs, beginning to end, are fantastic.

MYE: Another thing is, you have big production but you approach it in a hi-fi and yet organic way. A lot of bands go for slick production and it kills their sound. Thankfully, there are a few new bands like, for example, Lazarus A.D. who are indebted to older thrash and don’t feel the need to be the shiniest emo band.

DL: Yeah, right. Municipal Waste, have you heard them?

MYE: Yeah, Municipal.

DL: Yeah. They’re great. The drumming and sound is very organic, too. Of course, it’s very punk but I hear a lot of thrash in that band, too.

MYE: How’s Tom’s back doing?

DL: Better. He just got out of surgery yesterday. His wife sent me a text that he’s out and he’s fine. He’s recovering, so everything’s good. He’s just dealing with the pain right now.

MYE: Of course there’s a lot of build up towards the European Big 4 shows coming up in the summer.

DL: Yes.

MYE: I don’t expect you to give me any big scoop on what your plans are, because obviously, as awesome as it is it is also a really competitive night. I almost think you can just play your normal set and it will kick the most ass anyway. [laughing]

DL: Y’know…it will! It really, really will.

MYE: [laughing]

DL: We’re gonna kick ass. Well, and they are. Everybody’s gonna do their own show. Everybody’s great at what they do.

MYE: I’m just stirring the pot here, Dave.

DL: Yeah, Slayer’s music does have a bit of ferociousness that is hard for other bands to follow, but within their own realm all those bands are fantastic and have fantastic songs. But there is ferociousness in Slayer, so…

MYE: Anything planned for Grip, Inc.?

DL: Unfortunately Gus passed away, but there’s always a possibility we’re going to do something. Right now Waldemar’s [Sorychta] working with Faith No More and finishing mixing another record. We spoke before Christmas and we’re going to do a new record.

MYE: My friend Fred Waring used to drum for the sludge band Crisis and he said he opened up for Grip once at the old Limelight in NYC. He wanted me to apologize because it was a tight stage and he said he accidentally kept banging your cymbals behind him.

DL: Oh, geez. That was a long ass time ago! It must not’ve angered me in any way.

MYE: This is a kind of odd question, but I was watching a documentary on the brain the other day and they were saying that a lot of serial killers have underdeveloped amygdalae in their brains, which leads to emotional detachment from their crimes and less fear. You think that will in the future affect the criminal justice system, if they are predisposed because of this?

DL: Of course, they have a predisposition, if that’s what you’re saying.

MYE: I guess, if they can’t help it, how do you prosecute them?

DL: Well, then psychology is put in the picture. They aren’t able to live in society BUT they live in society that way up until they are caught, so we really don’t know. They adapt and hide their lust for murder. I don’t know too much about this shit, dude and it’s too much for me in my musical fucking world to dabble in.

MYE: It’s just such a weird gray area for law enforcement. You can’t do nothing, that’s for sure, but how do you psychologically judge people even if they can’t control themselves?

DL: By their actions. You don’t put somebody in jail that constantly checks the door to see if it’s locked or has a phobia, but once you start hurting people that’s fucked up and you should be locked up. If they can’t help it…there’s people who mutilate themselves. Tape up their hands so they can’t do it. If you think that’s barbaric, well, let them mutilate themselves until they realize what they are doing is stupid.

MYE: In all your travels, what have you learned the most about your ability to travel the world and adapt to different environments that you maybe applied to your playing or a personal philosophy? Fluidity or always being on the go…

DL: You have to be open-minded. Not all cultures react the same to situations and scenarios. Not all cultures stand in line at a fast food place and wait their turn. Other cultures’ people will try and barge in front of you. Yeah, you could say something to him, but don’t overreact because, hey, you’re in another country and maybe you didn’t do something that was ideal to his cultural habits. Traveling, you have to deal with shit like that. Hey, you’re in their world. Don’t expect them to bow down to your American ways because you’re standing in their country. Sometimes you’re at an airport and it’s quiet and there are three or four Americans hollering really loud. Y’know, ”Hey!” and it’s like that in America but is frowned upon elsewhere. It’s changing, but during the Bush administration we were also really frowned upon and you would hear things.

MYE: You wanna say, “Not everyone’s like that!”

DL: In America things are a little louder. Let’s say an airport in France, it’s real quiet.

MYE: The new record title is World Painted Blood and here we are talking about being diplomatic wherever you go.

DL: Yeah, otherwise people will not like your attitude. You’ll get your butt kicked.

MYE: Dude, it’s awesome to talk to you and thank you for everything you’ve done.

DL: Thank you very much, man.