Empire State Bastard appeared on Chaoszine for an interview where they discussed their new album, ‘Rivers of Heresy.’ Amid the conversation, Simon Neil shared his thoughts on getting the stamp of approval from the former Slayer drummer, Dave Lombardo.
Lombardo recently joined the new extreme metal project for their new album. With the hit of the pandemic, the band was looking for a drummer who could ‘play like Dave Lombardo,‘ after which they thought of contacting the former Slayer rocker. In the recent interview, the frontman revealed how they got the chance to work with the drummer and get his stamp of approval. He shared:
“If it wasn’t for the pandemic, we probably wouldn’t have chanced our arm. That was when we knew Dave, he’s such a busy player, he plays with so many f*cking bands. So we probably wouldn’t have tried if we didn’t know that no one was touring, and I’m so glad we did. Everything came together and it gave us a kind of stamp of approval that we maybe needed at that point because no one had heard the music apart from me and Mike, and we loved it.”
Apparently, the band initially didn’t know whether or not they would release their record right until Lombardo came in. He continued:
“We didn’t know if it was going to become just be a record, whether it would become a band, whether we’d release it at that point, but when Dave Lombardo came back and said, I’m going to play in this record, I can’t wait, I f*cking love it,’ we were like, ‘Right, we’re on to something.'”
The frontman touched on the drummer’s commitment:
“And Dave’s commitment to the record and to touring with us has blown our minds and to work with someone who has been a part of heavy music, and really all modern metal is based on Dave and what Slayer did at that point, especially modern drumming and things.”
Neil, implying that Lombardo is not like other artists who ‘have a brand,’ concluded:
“To think he is still as hungry for new music, for new experiences and new inspirations, that is what blows our minds as much as anything. It’s a real testament to what an actual musician and creator Dave is. He’s not just someone that wants to kind of have a brand behind his head and just do the same shit for the next 40 years. He’s a seeker.”
Although it’s not even been two months since the band released their latest studio album, they already released a new single entitled ‘Tired, Naw?‘
You can watch the interview below.
