Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Legendary Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo has just detonated a pipe bomb regarding the thrash band’s business dealings and internal turmoil. One week ago, on Valentine’s Day, Lombardo was notified by the band’s lawyers that his services behind the kit would not be needed for Slayer’s upcoming Australian tour dates. The entire story feels beyond odd and incredibly cold, and Lombardo has detailed the sudden decision in an official statement. According to a Facebook post from Dave Lombardo’s personal account today (Feb. 21), the drummer alleges that there have been shady practices from the individuals who handle the business of Slayer. Lombardo explains that his efforts to secure more money for the band members themselves led to a butting of heads with guitarist Kerry King, and reveals he was ultimately dismissed from the Australian dates, which primarily consist of their run on the Soundwave Festival. Lombardo posted the following on his Facebook page: I want to personally apologize to all of our fans in Australia who have bought tickets for the tour expecting to see me in my usual place on the drums. 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. I’m saddened, and to be honest I am shocked by the situation. Last year, I discovered 90% of Slayer’s tour income was being deducted as expenses including the professional fees paid to management, costing the band millions of dollars and leaving 10% or less to split amongst the four of us. In my opinion, this is not the way a band’s business should operate. I tried rectifying it by letting my band mates know, and Tom and I hired auditors to figure out what happened, but I was denied access to detailed information and the necessary back up documents. 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. 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. It also forbade me to do interviews or make statements having to do with the band, in effect a gagging order. Last Monday, I sat down with Kerry [King] and Tom [Araya] to rehearse for Australia and to propose a new business model that I felt was the best way forward for Slayer to confidently protect itself so we could do what we do best . . . play for the fans. Kerry made it clear he wasn’t interested in making changes and said if I wanted to argue the point, he would find another drummer. On Thursday, I arrived at rehearsals at 1 pm as scheduled, but Kerry did not show. Rather, at 6:24 pm I received an email from the lawyers saying I was being replaced for the Australian dates. I remain hopeful that we can resolve our issues. But once again, I sincerely apologize to all of our fans in Australia who spent their money expecting to see the 3 of us original Slayer members. I look forward to seeing you in the future. Sincerely, Dave Lombardo As for Lombardo’s replacement, according to a Tweet from Soundwave Festival promoter AJ Maddah, Jon Dette will be manning the drums for Slayer while the band is playing Australia. Dette previously handled drum duties for Slayer in 1996 and 1997. It was also recently revealed that Dette would be filling in for Anthrax ‘s Charlie Benante for the same Australian Soundwave shows, after Benante was forced to take a break due to “ personal issues .” As far as the future of Slayer is concerned, the band is working on a new album, but with guitarist Jeff Hanneman still recovering from a spider bite and Lombardo being kicked off the Australia tour, things seem up in the air right now. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as news on the Slayer situation continues to break. Update: Slayer have issued a statement on the matter. It reads as follows: Slayer confirms that Jon Dette (Testament) will drum for the band on its Australian tour that starts this Saturday, February 23 in Brisbane. As regards 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 been previously agreed upon. The band was unable to reach an agreement on these new demands in the short amount of time available prior to leaving for Australia. There is more to the account than what Mr. Lombardo has offered, but out of respect to him, Slayer will not be commenting further. Slayer is grateful to its Australian fans for their understanding of this unfortunate last-minute change, and very much looks forward to seeing them at these shows. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/slayer-kerry-king-next-album-out-this-year/” title=”Slayer’s Kerry King ‘Very Comfortable’ Saying New Album Will See 2013 Release” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Legendary Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo has just detonated a pipe bomb regarding the thrash band’s business dealings and internal turmoil. One week ago, on Valentine’s Day, Lombardo was notified by the band’s lawyers that his services behind the kit would not be needed for Slayer’s upcoming Australian tour dates. The entire story feels beyond odd and incredibly cold, and Lombardo has detailed the sudden decision in an official statement. According to a Facebook post from Dave Lombardo’s personal account today (Feb. 21), the drummer alleges that there have been shady practices from the individuals who handle the business of Slayer. Lombardo explains that his efforts to secure more money for the band members themselves led to a butting of heads with guitarist Kerry King, and reveals he was ultimately dismissed from the Australian dates, which primarily consist of their run on the Soundwave Festival. Lombardo posted the following on his Facebook page: I want to personally apologize to all of our fans in Australia who have bought tickets for the tour expecting to see me in my usual place on the drums. 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. I’m saddened, and to be honest I am shocked by the situation. Last year, I discovered 90% of Slayer’s tour income was being deducted as expenses including the professional fees paid to management, costing the band millions of dollars and leaving 10% or less to split amongst the four of us. In my opinion, this is not the way a band’s business should operate. I tried rectifying it by letting my band mates know, and Tom and I hired auditors to figure out what happened, but I was denied access to detailed information and the necessary back up documents. 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. 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. It also forbade me to do interviews or make statements having to do with the band, in effect a gagging order. Last Monday, I sat down with Kerry [King] and Tom [Araya] to rehearse for Australia and to propose a new business model that I felt was the best way forward for Slayer to confidently protect itself so we could do what we do best . . . play for the fans. Kerry made it clear he wasn’t interested in making changes and said if I wanted to argue the point, he would find another drummer. On Thursday, I arrived at rehearsals at 1 pm as scheduled, but Kerry did not show. Rather, at 6:24 pm I received an email from the lawyers saying I was being replaced for the Australian dates. I remain hopeful that we can resolve our issues. But once again, I sincerely apologize to all of our fans in Australia who spent their money expecting to see the 3 of us original Slayer members. I look forward to seeing you in the future. Sincerely, Dave Lombardo As for Lombardo’s replacement, according to a Tweet from Soundwave Festival promoter AJ Maddah, Jon Dette will be manning the drums for Slayer while the band is playing Australia. Dette previously handled drum duties for Slayer in 1996 and 1997. It was also recently revealed that Dette would be filling in for Anthrax ‘s Charlie Benante for the same Australian Soundwave shows, after Benante was forced to take a break due to “ personal issues .” As far as the future of Slayer is concerned, the band is working on a new album, but with guitarist Jeff Hanneman still recovering from a spider bite and Lombardo being kicked off the Australia tour, things seem up in the air right now. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as news on the Slayer situation continues to break. Update: Slayer have issued a statement on the matter. It reads as follows: Slayer confirms that Jon Dette (Testament) will drum for the band on its Australian tour that starts this Saturday, February 23 in Brisbane. As regards 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 been previously agreed upon. The band was unable to reach an agreement on these new demands in the short amount of time available prior to leaving for Australia. There is more to the account than what Mr. Lombardo has offered, but out of respect to him, Slayer will not be commenting further. Slayer is grateful to its Australian fans for their understanding of this unfortunate last-minute change, and very much looks forward to seeing them at these shows. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/slayer-kerry-king-next-album-out-this-year/” title=”Slayer’s Kerry King ‘Very Comfortable’ Saying New Album Will See 2013 Release” align=”center”]
Frank Micelota, Getty Images – On what would have been Kurt Cobain ‘s 46th birthday (Feb. 20), we present our picks for the 10 Best Nirvana Songs. [ Loudwire ] – Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan stars in a new wrestling themed commercial for a furniture store. Watch it here: [ Loudwire ] – The Devil Wears Prada guitarist Chris Rubey is sitting out part of the band’s tour on paternity leave. [ Loudwire ] – How to Destroy Angels are currently streaming their ‘Welcome Oblivion’ album ahead of its release. [ Loudwire ] – Today (Feb. 20) marks the 10 year anniversary of perhaps the most tragic concert event in rock history — the Great White Station fire. [ Loudwire ] – Rush have added more dates to their 2013 North American summer tour. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – The Beatles ‘ ‘Abbey Road’ album cover is being used for a traffic safety campaign in India. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – David Bowie is planning some Record Store Day vinyl singles and an EP. [ Diffuser.fm ] – Footage of The Killers performing live with one of their musical idols — New Order ‘s Bernard Sumner — has surfaced. [ Diffuser.fm ]
Frank Micelota, Getty Images – On what would have been Kurt Cobain ‘s 46th birthday (Feb. 20), we present our picks for the 10 Best Nirvana Songs. [ Loudwire ] – Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan stars in a new wrestling themed commercial for a furniture store. Watch it here: [ Loudwire ] – The Devil Wears Prada guitarist Chris Rubey is sitting out part of the band’s tour on paternity leave. [ Loudwire ] – How to Destroy Angels are currently streaming their ‘Welcome Oblivion’ album ahead of its release. [ Loudwire ] – Today (Feb. 20) marks the 10 year anniversary of perhaps the most tragic concert event in rock history — the Great White Station fire. [ Loudwire ] – Rush have added more dates to their 2013 North American summer tour. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – The Beatles ‘ ‘Abbey Road’ album cover is being used for a traffic safety campaign in India. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – David Bowie is planning some Record Store Day vinyl singles and an EP. [ Diffuser.fm ] – Footage of The Killers performing live with one of their musical idols — New Order ‘s Bernard Sumner — has surfaced. [ Diffuser.fm ]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire It’s becoming more commonplace for musicians to ask for a little financial help for their passion projects that have a smaller profile than their main bands, and As I Lay Dying ‘s Tim Lambesis is doing just that for his Austrian Death Machine project. The band, which is a hard-hitting rock outfit loosely based around the theme of Arnold Schwarzenegger catch phrases and films, is about to start work on its third disc, ‘Triple Brutal,’ and Lambesis has launched an Indiegogo campaign to help fund it. Much like other websites used to fund such projects, Lambesis has offered a number of incentives to get fans to donate in order to complete the new album. The frontman says, “The past couple years of my life have been really busy with As I Lay Dying tours, kids, and life in general. While I’ve always wanted to do a third Austrian Death Machine record, it became harder and harder to justify the time. I have however found enough time and made it a priority to get in better shape. Maybe it’s partly because of that, but for whatever reason, a huge percentage of fans started asking me for a new ADM record on the last couple tours … I’m launching this campaign because I believe these are all things that you guys want, and if that’s the case — it justifies leaving the rest of my life unorganized for a while when I focus on Austrian Death Machine.” Lambesis had some fun coming up with the campaign incentives, with two people having the chance to have their initials tattooed on his butt and then enjoying dinner with him after to celebrate. That’s the high-end prize, going for a $5,000 donation. Some of the other lesser cost but still entertaining offers include the chance to punch Tim in the abs as hard as you can. That goes for $99 and he must be fairly confident in his body as he’s offered 33 opportunities for people to receive that option. There’s also 15 opportunities at $500 a pop where Lambesis will serve as your personal trainer for a month. You could also have the singer wear a shirt with your photo on it at shows. That goes for $250. Smaller priced items include early digital downloads, exclusive digipacks, signed vinyl copies of the new ‘Triple Brutal’ record, t-shirt and CD bundles and a ‘Triple Brutal’ pack that comes with the digipack, a workout book and an eating plan designed by Lambesis. To see all the donation options, visit Austrian Death Machine’s Indiegogo campaign here . He’s seeking to reach $63,000 raised with 45 days still left in the campaign. He adds that if he exceeds the goal, the remaining money will be used to fund a ‘Triple Brutal TerminaTour.’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/as-i-lay-dying-metal-band-of-the-year-2012-loudwire-music-awards/” title=”Next: As I Lay Dying Voted Loudwire’s 2012 Metal Band of the Year” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire It’s becoming more commonplace for musicians to ask for a little financial help for their passion projects that have a smaller profile than their main bands, and As I Lay Dying ‘s Tim Lambesis is doing just that for his Austrian Death Machine project. The band, which is a hard-hitting rock outfit loosely based around the theme of Arnold Schwarzenegger catch phrases and films, is about to start work on its third disc, ‘Triple Brutal,’ and Lambesis has launched an Indiegogo campaign to help fund it. Much like other websites used to fund such projects, Lambesis has offered a number of incentives to get fans to donate in order to complete the new album. The frontman says, “The past couple years of my life have been really busy with As I Lay Dying tours, kids, and life in general. While I’ve always wanted to do a third Austrian Death Machine record, it became harder and harder to justify the time. I have however found enough time and made it a priority to get in better shape. Maybe it’s partly because of that, but for whatever reason, a huge percentage of fans started asking me for a new ADM record on the last couple tours … I’m launching this campaign because I believe these are all things that you guys want, and if that’s the case — it justifies leaving the rest of my life unorganized for a while when I focus on Austrian Death Machine.” Lambesis had some fun coming up with the campaign incentives, with two people having the chance to have their initials tattooed on his butt and then enjoying dinner with him after to celebrate. That’s the high-end prize, going for a $5,000 donation. Some of the other lesser cost but still entertaining offers include the chance to punch Tim in the abs as hard as you can. That goes for $99 and he must be fairly confident in his body as he’s offered 33 opportunities for people to receive that option. There’s also 15 opportunities at $500 a pop where Lambesis will serve as your personal trainer for a month. You could also have the singer wear a shirt with your photo on it at shows. That goes for $250. Smaller priced items include early digital downloads, exclusive digipacks, signed vinyl copies of the new ‘Triple Brutal’ record, t-shirt and CD bundles and a ‘Triple Brutal’ pack that comes with the digipack, a workout book and an eating plan designed by Lambesis. To see all the donation options, visit Austrian Death Machine’s Indiegogo campaign here . He’s seeking to reach $63,000 raised with 45 days still left in the campaign. He adds that if he exceeds the goal, the remaining money will be used to fund a ‘Triple Brutal TerminaTour.’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/as-i-lay-dying-metal-band-of-the-year-2012-loudwire-music-awards/” title=”Next: As I Lay Dying Voted Loudwire’s 2012 Metal Band of the Year” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire New York is no stranger to Gojira , and the band did not disappoint during the last show of their U.S. tour. The French metallers destroyed Irving Plaza last night (Feb. 19) with help from the Devin Townsend Project and the Atlas Moth. As a makeup date for a snowed out Feb. 8 gig, the show was the band’s second consecutive concert in New York (after playing the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on Feb. 18). After numerous “Gojira” chants, the band exploded onto the stage with their aptly titled track ‘Explosia’ and went on to play other songs from their latest album like the title track ‘L’Enfant Sauvage’ and ‘The Axe.’ Among the highlights of the set was drummer Mario Duplantier switching places with his frontman brother Joe Duplantier. The stickman delivered some serious guttural vocals while Joe held his own behind the drum kit. While the band did not play ‘Liquid Fire,’ an infectious song which graced previous setlists, they did play some tunes for the diehards, such as ‘Flying Whales,’ ‘Backbone,’ ‘Wisdom Comes,’ and ‘Oroborus.’ Gojira ended their set with and old fan favorite ‘Vacuity’ and a new fan favorite ‘The Gift of Guilt.’ The band as a whole continue to get better and sweatier onstage and they set the bar high when it comes to the art of forceful live performances. Devin Townsend is one of the most animated and charismatic performers you can ever see live. With significant facial expressions and mind-blowing vocals, it’s safe to say that Townsend is a truly talented (and hilarious) individual. When you combine that sort of talent with a kick-ass band, the sparks fly onstage. The chemistry and magnetism of the group as a whole is infectious, to say the least. The Devin Townsend Project performed a setlist that was far too short but included tracks like ‘More,’ ‘Kingdom,’ ’Lucky Animals,’ ‘Planet of the Apes,’ ‘War’ ‘Juular,’ and of course, ‘Grace.’ Chicago based band The Atlas Moth kicked off the night with their sludgy, metal, psychedelic sound. Photos of Gojira and the Devin Townsend Project at Irving Plaza in NYC Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Devin Townsend Project Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire