The former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo recently revealed to Banger TV that the track ‘Ghosts of War’ is one of favorites from his tenure with the band. The rocker shared why the track holds the top spot by saying:
“Probably several reasons. The song structure, of course. It has a great pulse, great lyrics, the melody, just the way the song was put together. The drum break—It’s just so heavy when it breaks down into that section. The guitars are so chunky. And the groove—It feels good. That’s the bottom line.”
The drummer also pointed out that the song has to live and stand on its own. He added:
“It’s gotta have feeling. It’s gotta breathe. Otherwise it’s just sterile; it’s just a straight line, no emotion. And that song, I think, captures a feeling. And there’s some songs that do and some that don’t. And that, I believe, has all the makings or the quality of, for me, a pure, great metal track, thrash metal track.”
This isn’t the only time Dave mentioned ‘Ghosts Of War’ as the drummer also told Metal Hammer last year why the track is special to him.
“‘Ghosts Of War’ has a breakdown in the middle of the song, where I play these particular drum rolls over Kerry [King] and Jeff’s [Hanneman] riffing—It’s a certain break, and every time I played that section and that song, it would give me the goosebumps. It would just make me feel good. Whatever it is that music does to humans, stimulate your endorphins or whatever, that song uplifted me and gave me the chills when I was playing it.”
You can read Dave Lombardo’s interview with Banger TV here and listen to ‘Ghosts Of War’ below.
