In a new interview with The Pit, classic SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo discussed the importance of staying authentic as an artist.
He said: “If the internet existed back when SLAYER released their very first album, we would have been destroyed. ‘Oh, what is this?’… So, today, these days, you have to go with the approach of how we did it back then — we didn’t care. We thought it was heavy, we thought it was brutal and evil — it was dark, it had a certain feel to it.
“And it made all of us happy, it had our stamp of approval. What we were listening to at the time created a bar,” he continued. It’s like, ‘OK, we’ve gotta come up with something like this or better. And we always wanted to do something better and different.
“I think, really, musicians and bands, listen to yourselves. Don’t listen to anyone else. And another thing is bands that feel, ‘Oh, no. Our fans won’t go for that because our fans only like us to do this style.’ Well, then there’s no growth. You’re gonna grow stagnant. It’s just not gonna evolve if you don’t venture out and try new things.
“I feel like part of longevity is being as creative as you can be. Like, for example, when SLAYER released [1986’s] Reign in Blood, we did the exact opposite on [1988’s] South of Heaven. It was a little bit slower — although there were some fast songs, we touched on slower rhythms.
“We shifted things,” Dave added. “And the sound was a little bit different as well. And then [1990’s] Seasons in the Abyss came out, and it was different. You have to do that, man. Otherwise… I don’t know. Maybe it works for some bands, but for me personally, it feels good when you try different styles, different approaches to music.”
You can watch full interview below.
