Slayer Drummer Dave Lombardo Gets Kicked Off the Tour
Black Sabbath isn’t the only band with drummer issues – Slayer will be playing its upcoming Australian tour dates without original drummer Dave Lombardo.
The drummer announced the news earlier this week on his Facebook page.
“So that you all know the truth, as of the end of the business day on February 14th, I was notified that I would not be drumming for the tour in Australia,” Lombardo wrote on the social media site. “I’m saddened, and to be honest I am shocked by the situation.”
Slayer later issued an official response to the statement, saying it confirms “that Jon Dette (Testament) will drum for the band on its Australian tour that starts this Saturday, February 23 in Brisbane. As regards [to] Dave Lombardo’s Facebook post, Slayer does not agree with Mr. Lombardo’s substance or the timeline of the events, except to acknowledge that Mr. Lombardo came to the band less than a week before their scheduled departure for Australia to present an entirely new set of terms for his engagement that were contrary to those that had previously been agreed upon.”
Lombardo joined the band in 1981 as the group’s original drummer, though he was on hiatus from 1992-2002.
The Australian tour for the band will be as part of the Soundwave touring festival that will visit Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth from February 23-March 4.
Lombardo writes that the contract disputes come from the fact that the bulk of the band’s tour revenue was being spent on professional fees paid to management rather going to the band itself.
“I spent the Christmas and New Year holidays realizing I had toured all over the world in 2012, but yet, had not been paid (except a small advance) or provided a proper accounting for a full year’s sweat and blood,” he wrote in his statement. “On top of this, I was told that I would not be paid until I signed a long form contract which gave me no written assurance of how much or on what basis management would deduct commissions, nor did it provide me access to the financial budgets or records for review.”
