So, farewell then Dave Lombardo. Slayer have announced that they’ve found a new permanent drummer to replace their original skinsman and it’s none other than…Paul Bostaph, the guy who took Lombardo’s spot when he first left the band in the early ‘90s.
Bostaph made his debut with Slayer in 1992 and played on four of the band’s studio albums: Divine Intervention, Undisputed Attitude, Diabolus in Musica and God Hates Us All. He also popped up in the concert videos Live Intrusion and War at the Warfield.
After Lombardo rejoined Slayer in 2001, Bostaph left the band to do a series of stints with the likes of Exodus, Testament and (bizarrely) Geoff Tate’s Queensryche.
Given his history with the band and the fact that he’s a beast of a drummer, Bostaph’s probably the best pick Slayer could make now that Lombardo’s been muscled out of the picture.
Here’s the press release announcing Bostaph’s return:
LOS ANGELES, CA — Slayer’s Tom Araya and Kerry King are very pleased to announce that Paul Bostaph has rejoined the band on a full-time basis. Bostaph will be behind the drum kit beginning June 4 when Slayer kicks off the first leg of its 2013 international tour in Warsaw, Poland. Gary Holt will continue to fill in for fallen guitarist Jeff Hanneman.
Slayer’s 2013 itinerary will have the band playing 35 dates that will include headline shows as well as a number of major summer festivals in Europe, Eastern Europe and South America between June and October. The complete itinerary is below.
“Paul’s a great drummer and a good friend, and we’re very happy that he’s decided to rejoin the band,” said Tom Araya. “We’re still pretty numb from the loss of Jeff, but we don’t want to disappoint our European and South American fans, and we need to begin moving forward…having Paul back in the band makes that a whole lot easier.”
“I’m very excited to be rejoining Slayer,” added Bostaph. “We spent a very intense ten years of our lives together, had a lot of fun, made a lot of great music, so for me, this feels like coming home.”
