In a new interview with Nikki Blakk, Kerry King discussed his personal and professional relationship with drummer Paul Bostaph. He criticized Dave Lombardo for airing the band’s ‘dirty laundry’ back in 2013.
“I landed and I had no idea that sh*t had happened, and my phone’s blowing up,” King recalled the incident. “I get to Australia and Bostaph’s on two of the calls. I’m like, ‘What happened while was on that flight?’ That’s when Dave did his interview, putting out all kinds of dirty laundry [out]. It’s nobody’s business. You shouldn’t put fans in a situation where they have to make a choice, that’s just f*cked up.”
While King wanted to get in touch with his Slayer bandmates before the announcement of the reunion, he wouldn’t say the same for Lombardo. In an earlier interview, King said Lombardo was dead to him.
“No. Lombardo is dead to me,” King said when asked if he has spoken to the band’s original drummer lately.”[Dave] went on that tirade when we were on a flight to Australia, and he knew we couldn’t retort for 14 hours, and he threw me under the bus. I was the only one keeping him in the band. Tom [Araya] wanted him out before that, and Jeff [Hannemann] had just gotten the spider bite [causing him to contract a flesh-eating bacteria, forcing him off the road], so he wasn’t playing with us much. I said, ‘We need [Dave]. The fans won’t get it if we replace him right now.’ And then the Australia thing came up. He threw me under the bus, and I’m, like, ‘I’m the guy that kept you here.’ So I thought, ‘F*ck that guy.’”
Just two weeks after the interview, Slayer announced their comeback.
Heavy metal fans witnessed Slayer’s first live show since retirement at Riot Fest in Chicago on September 22. Dave Lombardo did not participate in the reunion, as Paul Bostaph returned to the role he held from 2013 to 2019. Bostaph now plays a key role in King’s newly formed solo band.