During an interview with Metal Hammer, Slayer’s former drummer Dave Lombardo recalled Metallica’s Download Festival when he replaced Lars Ulrich in 2004. Lombardo mentioned that because he loves challenges, it was an exciting experience for him.
As considered one of the ‘Big Fours’ besides Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax, Slayer was one of the most important names of thrash metal. Therefore, the fans thought their disbandment in 2019 was too early. The band’s retirement happened because Tom Araya wanted to spend more time with his family.
In the previous month, Slayer’s ex-drummer Dave Lombardo was announced as becoming a part of Testament, replacing Gene Hoglan. Lombardo attended Testament for a short period to play for the album ‘The Gathering’ before. After Hoglan decided to continue his career solo, Lombardo rejoined the band. Testament recently announced their upcoming tour, ‘The Bay Strikes Back,’ which will begin on April 9, 2022.
In a recent interview, Lombardo talked about old times and how he performed with Metallica suddenly when he was at the Download Festival. This unexpected tenure occurred when drummer Lars Ulrich was suffering from an anxiety attack, and Metallica offered Lombardo to play instead of him at the last minute.
Lombardo mentioned that it was a challenge for him, and he loved it. He stated it was unbelievable and exciting playing with Metallica members. Lombardo added that it was a critical moment because he delivered the songs to the fans and helped Lars simultaneously.
Lombardo explained in his words the moment he played for Metallica:
“Excitement. I love challenges: ‘Alright, let’s do it. We’ll work it out and make it happen.’ I was thrilled to be up there with those guys, but it was surreal seeing James and Kirk and Rob in front of me. Like, ‘Is this really happening?’ But I couldn’t question the moment because there was something more important at stake, which was to help Lars and the band deliver these songs and deliver a show for the fans.”
At the Download Festival in 2004, the helping of Lombardo was talked about by many people. They mentioned that Lombardo was one of the musicians who saved the day, and the drummer had the opportunity to have the rush of playing with Metallica.
