Dave Lombardo kom i dag med en overraskende nyhet til Slayer-fansen. Grunnet økonomiske uenigheter blir ikke Lombardo med bandet når de skal spille i Australia, og trommisen vet heller ikke når eller om han kommer tilbake til Slayer. Jon Dette som nå spiller med Anthrax (som reserve for Charlie Benante) skal tromme for bandet i Australia. Dette har også tidligere spilt trommer for Slayer en kort periode på 90-tallet.
Det er ikke første gang det har vært uenigheter om lønn innad i Slayer, og Lombardo har sluttet i bandet ved to anledninger tidligere, selv om det denne gang ser ut som om han er ute av bandet langt mer ufrivillig. Så langt har ikke Slayer kommet med en offisiell uttalelse, så vi får nøye oss med en side av saken til resten av bandet melder noe.
Dave Lombardo er et av orginalmedlemmene i Slayer, som nå også mangler en annen som var med å starte bandet. Gitarist Jeff Hanneman sliter nemlig fremdeles med ettervirkningene etter et edderkoppbitt, og tidligere denne uken medga resten av medlemmene i Slayer at de ikke visste når Hanneman ville returnere til scenen. Så langt har Gary Holt fra Exodus vært superreserve, noe som blant annet gikk svært bra da Slayer spilte i Bergen i fjor.
Slayer skal spille på årets Øya-festival, men om det blir med svært dyktige Lombardo bak trommene er akkurat nå svært uvisst. Les hele uttalelsen fra Lombardo til fansen under, og pressemeldingen som kom fra Slayer noen timer senere helt nederst i saken.
«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 bandmates know, and Tom [Araya, bass/vocals] and I hired auditors to figure out what happened, but I was denied access to detailed information and the necessary backup 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 longform 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 and Tom 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 p.m. as scheduled, but Kerry did not show. Rather, at 6:24 p.m. 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 three of us original SLAYER members. I look forward to seeing you in the future.»
Slayer brukte noen timer på å svare på Lombardos versjon av saken, og holdt det i god Slayer-tradisjon kort og konsist. Det vi kan lese fra dette er at saken kun handler om penger.
«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.»
