Dave Lombardo Steps Away From Testament Due to Conflicting Commitments
Originally published by Consequence News
Last year, Dave Lombardo joined Testament, replacing fellow legendary thrash drummer Gene Hoglan. This year, Lombardo will not be touring with the veteran metal act, citing his commitments with his other bands.
Lombardo is, of course, the founding drummer of Slayer, but these days he’s manning the kit for multiple acts, including the Original Misfits, Mr. Bungle, Dead Cross, Suicidal Tendencies, Empire State Bastard, and Satanic Planet. Not to mention, he’s set to release his debut solo album, Rites of Percussion, on May 5th.
In 2022, the drummer’s schedule allowed him to embark on an extensive tour with Testament. In 2023, he has a couple of North American tour legs booked with Mr. Bungle (tickets here), a brief run of summer US shows with the Original Misfits (tickets here), and a few dates with Empire State Bastard (his new band featuring members of Biffy Clyro).
The accomplished stickman took to Facebook to let his fans know he won’t be on the road with Testatement this year:
“We knew 2022 was going to be relatively easy, as far as schedules go, between myself and Testament. Unfortunately, 2023 has not been so easy. After months of trying to work out specific tour dates, our schedules are just conflicting too much to make sense this year. Therefore, I will not be joining Testament for their 2023 tour dates. We are all thrilled that we were able to share the stage last year, it’s some thing we wanted to do for a very long time. I had an amazing experience with the band and am wishing them all the best moving forward. To the Testament fans, thank you for welcoming me, making every show a killer experience, and for your understanding as we all move forward.”
Further elaborating in an interview with Blabbermouth, Lombardo explained, “I’m focusing on the Misfits, Mr. Bungle, Empire State Bastard, and in 2022, when I was on tour with Testament, I had stuff lined up that was starting to build for 2023. With Testament, we were having several scheduling conflicts. I couldn’t back out of them. I won’t be joining them on their upcoming tours for 2023. My focus is on Bungle, who I’ve recorded an album with back in 2019 and we did a live album. Empire State Bastard, I recorded an album for them in 2020. That’s going to finally see the light of day later this year.”
As for his future with Testament, Lombardo commented, “I can’t guarantee anything because of my commitments. I did fulfill my contractual commitment for 2022, which was quite extensive … We’ll see. The relationship is good. The doors are open. The communication is there.”
Testament, meanwhile, will kick off a South American tour with Kreator on April 19th, with a run of European festival dates beginning in late May. The band has not yet revealed who will be playing drums with them this time around.
Along with announcing his exit from Testament, Lombardo also unveiled the new single “Inner Sanctum” from his aforementioned solo album. Watch the video below.
