Biography
Dave Lombardo secured his standing among metal’s premier drummers by powering Slayer, the definitive speed-metal ensemble, through a blend of intricate technique and blistering velocity. Although his performances on Slayer’s landmark recordings Reign in Blood and Seasons in the Abyss would alone have assured his legacy, he maintained an extensive parallel career that encompassed the atmospheric experiments of Fantômas alongside Faith No More’s Mike Patton and the Melvins’ King Buzzo, drum duties for punk institutions such as the Misfits and Suicidal Tendencies, and wide-ranging collaborations with John Zorn, DJ Spooky, Philm, and numerous others. On his 2023 solo release Rites of Percussion, Lombardo investigated an expansive palette of drums, atmospheric textures, and rhythmic instruments.
Born the youngest of four children in Havana, Cuba, on February 16, 1965, Lombardo moved with his family to Los Angeles two years later. Drawn early to Cuban and Latin percussion, he received his first drum kit at age ten and quickly absorbed rock and roll influences from Kiss and Led Zeppelin while also exploring blues, jazz, and disco. When he began assembling bands in junior high, however, his primary allegiance lay with late-’70s hard rock and heavy metal, a passion that connected him with neighborhood guitarist Kerry King. Their encounter ultimately produced Slayer in 1982, completed by guitarist Jeff Hanneman and vocalist/bassist Tom Araya.
The audacious quartet advanced rapidly from Iron Maiden and Judas Priest covers to help define, then dominate, the thrash-metal movement of the later 1980s. Lombardo’s power, agility, and innate command of the drums formed essential elements of Slayer’s signature ferocity during their ascent, most notably on the 1986 masterpiece Reign in Blood. Following a succession of increasingly successful and influential albums that peaked with 1990’s Seasons in the Abyss and the 1991 live set Decade of Aggression, Lombardo surprised the metal world by stepping away from Slayer to pursue fresh avenues. Long-standing dissatisfaction with perceived constraints on the band’s sound had already surfaced three years earlier when Whiplash drummer Tony Scaglione briefly filled in during the Reign in Blood tour.
The second exit proved lasting, allowing Lombardo to follow a markedly broader musical path. Foremost among his projects was Grip Inc., the experimental heavy-metal outfit he co-founded in 1994 with German guitarist/producer Waldemar Sorychta and an evolving roster of musicians, yielding multiple albums over subsequent years. He also contributed as a session player to recordings by Bay Area thrashers Testament and avant-garde composer John Zorn, as well as to conceptual artist Matthew Barney’s second Cremaster Cycle installment. A sustained partnership developed with Mike Patton and Buzz Osborne in the art-rock collective Fantômas, while further ventures included the 2005 ambient hip-hop collaboration Drums of Death with DJ Spooky and frequent work with Finnish symphonic-metal band Apocalyptica.
Lombardo rejoined Slayer in 2001 and remained until 2013, appearing on the albums Christ Illusion (2006) and World Painted Blood (2009). After that departure he served as drummer for Suicidal Tendencies, the Misfits, Mr. Bungle, and the hardcore supergroup Dead Cross, which featured the Locust’s Justin Pearson on bass, Retox’s Michael Crain on guitar, and Mike Patton on vocals. When the COVID-19 pandemic halted touring in the early 2020s, Lombardo used the enforced downtime to record a solo album of rhythm-centric pieces in his home studio. The project combined composed and improvised material, centering on diverse percussion instruments while incorporating ambient layers and melodic elements that enhanced its cinematic qualities; Rites of Percussion appeared in May 2023 on Ipecac Recordings.
Born the youngest of four children in Havana, Cuba, on February 16, 1965, Lombardo moved with his family to Los Angeles two years later. Drawn early to Cuban and Latin percussion, he received his first drum kit at age ten and quickly absorbed rock and roll influences from Kiss and Led Zeppelin while also exploring blues, jazz, and disco. When he began assembling bands in junior high, however, his primary allegiance lay with late-’70s hard rock and heavy metal, a passion that connected him with neighborhood guitarist Kerry King. Their encounter ultimately produced Slayer in 1982, completed by guitarist Jeff Hanneman and vocalist/bassist Tom Araya.
The audacious quartet advanced rapidly from Iron Maiden and Judas Priest covers to help define, then dominate, the thrash-metal movement of the later 1980s. Lombardo’s power, agility, and innate command of the drums formed essential elements of Slayer’s signature ferocity during their ascent, most notably on the 1986 masterpiece Reign in Blood. Following a succession of increasingly successful and influential albums that peaked with 1990’s Seasons in the Abyss and the 1991 live set Decade of Aggression, Lombardo surprised the metal world by stepping away from Slayer to pursue fresh avenues. Long-standing dissatisfaction with perceived constraints on the band’s sound had already surfaced three years earlier when Whiplash drummer Tony Scaglione briefly filled in during the Reign in Blood tour.
The second exit proved lasting, allowing Lombardo to follow a markedly broader musical path. Foremost among his projects was Grip Inc., the experimental heavy-metal outfit he co-founded in 1994 with German guitarist/producer Waldemar Sorychta and an evolving roster of musicians, yielding multiple albums over subsequent years. He also contributed as a session player to recordings by Bay Area thrashers Testament and avant-garde composer John Zorn, as well as to conceptual artist Matthew Barney’s second Cremaster Cycle installment. A sustained partnership developed with Mike Patton and Buzz Osborne in the art-rock collective Fantômas, while further ventures included the 2005 ambient hip-hop collaboration Drums of Death with DJ Spooky and frequent work with Finnish symphonic-metal band Apocalyptica.
Lombardo rejoined Slayer in 2001 and remained until 2013, appearing on the albums Christ Illusion (2006) and World Painted Blood (2009). After that departure he served as drummer for Suicidal Tendencies, the Misfits, Mr. Bungle, and the hardcore supergroup Dead Cross, which featured the Locust’s Justin Pearson on bass, Retox’s Michael Crain on guitar, and Mike Patton on vocals. When the COVID-19 pandemic halted touring in the early 2020s, Lombardo used the enforced downtime to record a solo album of rhythm-centric pieces in his home studio. The project combined composed and improvised material, centering on diverse percussion instruments while incorporating ambient layers and melodic elements that enhanced its cinematic qualities; Rites of Percussion appeared in May 2023 on Ipecac Recordings.
Albums
Singles
