“Pure brutality awaits”
Testament have a new drummer, and he’s a familiar face. The thrash metal titans announced Tuesday that the legendary Dave Lombardo would be rejoining the group as their permanent drummer ahead of their spring tour.
The announcement was made today via SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal.
Lombardo sat behind the kit for Testament for two years in the late Nineties, performing on the band’s 1999 album The Gathering.
“This is a long-awaited reunion that was bound to happen,” Lombardo said. “Once upon a time, we created a thrash masterpiece. I have no doubt that our musical chemistry will pick up exactly where we left off. I love the Testament family and am very excited to be joining them once again. Pure brutality awaits.”
“I’ll state the obvious, we are more than overwhelmed to welcome back Dave Lombardo to play drums with Testament,” said frontman Chuck Billy. “We are so excited to share the stage again with Lombardo. Dave added immense power when he joined the band for The Gathering, and we are ecstatic to see what new flavor he will bring back to Testament.”
“Having Dave Lombardo join us again feels like we are picking up where unfinished business had left off,” guitarist Eric Peterson added.” There is a silver lining to every cloud and working again with Dave calls for us to celebrate with our horns held high expresses, “Having Dave Lombardo join us again feels like we are picking up where unfinished business had left off. There is a silver lining to every cloud and working again with Dave calls for us to celebrate with our horns held high!”
Back in January, Testament announced that they were parting ways with drummer Gene Hoglan. The move was mutual, as Hoglan decided to step away from the band to pursue other interests. While no replacement was immediately announced, fans and critics speculated that Lombardo would be the guy.
Testament are set to embark on The Bay Area Strikes Back Tour with Exodus and Death Angel this spring.
Check out the full tour itinerary below.
