Testament guitarist Eric Peterson recently joined a conversation with Brave Words and detailed Dave Lombardo‘s process to become the band’s new drummer. According to Peterson, Lombardo was the ‘obvious choice’ for the group.
Lombardo has always been praised for his impactful contributions to many bands like Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, and Dead Cross. The rocker, described as an aggressive heavy metal drummer, has inspired upcoming metal musicians, specifically extreme metal drummers.
Lombardo joined Testament in the past and played on the eighth studio album ‘The Gathering.’ However, he left the band to focus on his solo career in the late ’90s. In the previous months, Lombardo was announced as the new drummer of Testament, replacing Gene Hoglan. Hoglan mentioned in a prior interview that Lombardo joining Testament was a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone.
Recently, the guitarist Eric Peterson stated in an interview that Hoglan and the band parted ways because they could not adjust a proper schedule for both sides. Peterson indicated no tension between them, and they started auditioning to look for a new drummer. They were surprised to see Dave Lombardo among the auditioners and remembered that he played in various bands. According to Peterson, Lombardo was the ‘obvious choice’ that would make everybody content.
Eric Peterson explained:
“Both of us, Gene and the band put out that we were parting ways and why. I think we were both disappointed. Gene wanted us to move stuff around. It had been too long. Two years for us to finally come out, and oh, now we can’t because Gene’s got a couple of shows here and there. It’s not even a blame thing. We both were like, ‘Hey, we want to do these things.’ He didn’t want to push back. So, we put out our feelers and started getting a lot of auditions.
But, Dave. I remember his name got brought up, and we were like, ‘No, he’s in Suicidal Tendencies, he’s in The Misfits, he’s in this, he’s in that.’ But he ended up calling Chuck; I think after the post hit, like a half-hour later. They talked a little bit, and Dave said, ‘Why don’t you talk to Eric.’
Chuck called me and said, ‘Guess who I just talked to?’ and I go, ‘I don’t know.’ He says, ‘Dave Lombardo, ’ and I’m like, ‘What? No way.’ Chuck says, ‘Yeah, he wants to do it.’ I called him up; we talked; I asked if he could send a video of some songs, and he goes, ‘I don’t need to do any fuckin’ video.’ I go, ‘Okay, you’re all good.’ I think when I ran it by our old drummer Louie and some other people, it’s the obvious choice.”
Peterson continued:
“Even if there were some other drummers that were younger or maybe knew more songs, for where we were with the pandemic, with this tour, I don’t think there was really anybody else that made sense. I think that would make people happy. We did a record with him. We already know that he is badass. I don’t think we even really had any auditions with anybody. He came up, and we jammed for a couple of weeks. It took a little bit longer because it’s a lot of information. He’s more analog. But I’m glad we did it.”
While Gene Hoglan is happy to leave Testament to pursue his solo career, the band is also satisfied to start a new era with Dave Lombardo. Fans are also eagerly looking forward to new projects of Hoglan and Testament.
