Much is made of Dave Lombardo’s pioneering work in Slayer – and rightly so, since he helped to write the manual on what it means to be a drummer in an unapologetically aggressive format. But what makes Lombardo so compelling as a musician is his creativity, his sense of when to push the beat and when to hang back, and his dynamic range.
These are the abilities that have seen him swing from metal outfits like Grip Inc., Testament and Sepultura (he made a cameo on their 2013 track ‘Obsessed’) to more abstract environments like Fantômas, John Zorn, Finnish ‘cello metal’ act Apocalyptica and his experimental post-hardcore band Philm.
Lombardo’s adaptability extends into soundtrack work, including Californication with composer and Marilyn Manson guitarist Tyler Bates, Insidious: Chapter 3 with composer Joseph Bishara, and scoring a soon-to-be-released Disney pilot. Heck, he’s even performed with a 75-piece orchestra by request of composer Christopher Young.
So how does he do it? Well, that’s something you can ask him yourself at The Repercussion Of Dave Lombardo, a masterclass tour hitting Allans Billy Hyde stores across the country this October. The drummer will discuss his Rhythm Mysterium art collection, showcase never-before-seen footage, demonstrate his new Paiste Reign ride cymbal and participate in a candid Q&A forum.
“At a very early stage in Slayer’s career, I felt it was important to expand your horizons,” Lombardo says of his musical versatility. “I like to create new sounds, not just do the same thing over and over. I have always felt I had more to offer then just one style.Reinventing and challenging yourself is a good thing – especially in music.”
One of Lombardo’s earliest influences was Led Zeppelin, whose music he used to drum along to even as a little kid, substituting boxes for percussion instruments long before he owned a drum kit. “I didn’t really have a drumming mentor,” he explains. “I feel the various, diverse records I acquired were really my inspiration when I was a teenager.”
Those records generally tended towards the heavy and atmospheric, from Led Zeppelin’s more bombastic moments to the darkness of Black Sabbath, on through KISS, then punk and the new wave of British heavy metal.
“I don’t know what it is that draws me to heavier music,” Lombardo says. “There’s something about minor chords and a powerful drum sound – I’m very much attracted to minor chord structures. The energy you feel from listening to those particular note combinations gives you the feeling something bad is going to happen. I like that tension and anxiety in the music. It feels dangerous.”
With such a diverse catalogue of releases, it’s no surprise Lombardo doesn’t necessarily default to Slayer when asked to select a track that he feels sums up his approach to the darker side of drums. “Is there a particular Slayer track? Not really. I would choose a song by Grip Inc. like ‘Hostage’ or Testament’s ‘Fall Of Sipledome’.”
When hosting a drumming masterclass like the ones he’s presenting in Australia, Lombardo fields questions of all sorts from attendees. “Some of the themes or questions are technical but a lot of them revolve around my history with various bands and requests to perform parts of songs I’ve recorded,” he says. There’s also plenty of gear talk. “I just replaced my old Roland TD-10 V-Drum unit with a newer TD-20X. I’m going to start incorporating electronic sounds [into] my repertoire – staying creative!”
And if Lombardo were offered the chance to attend a drum clinic with anyone alive or dead, there would only be one answer. “I would love to have sat with John Bonham and watched his execution behind the kit. I would have liked to see him improvise.”
[Dave Lombardo photo by Milosz Bauza]
The Repercussion Of Dave Lombardo happensFriday October 23 atAllans Billy Hyde, Sydney.
