Metal Anarchy

Legendary drummer Dave Lombardo (Mr. Bungle, Misfits, ex-Slayer, etc.) has revealed that he will not be joining Testament during their upcoming live shows. He also confirmed that his current status in the band is uncertain.

Lombardo told Blabbermouth the following about his current projects:

“Let’s start with Suicidal [Tendencies]. I haven’t been able to play with Suicidal because [Mike Muir] is not on tour as often or as much as I’d like. When I joined them in 2016, man, it was on. But then the pandemic [happened], and I believe he has [health] issues. I think he’s had a couple of surgeries on his back. It’s limited the amount of shows he does a year. I haven’t played with them in a while.

I’m focusing on the Misfits, Mr. Bungle, Empire State Bastard, and in 2022, when I was on tour with Testament, I had stuff lined up that was starting to build for 2023. With Testament, we were having several scheduling conflicts. I couldn’t back out of them. I won’t be joining them on their upcoming tours for 2023. My focus is on Bungle, who I’ve recorded an album with back in 2019 and we did a live album. Empire State Bastard, I recorded an album for them in 2020. That’s going to finally see the light of day later this year. We’ve already released a single. I’m not doing the [upcoming] shows with Satanic Planet… I won’t be performing with them. Instead of doing live shows [with Satanic Planet], I really like to just be more on the production and songwriting side. It’s very industrial, very dark. It’s got a very evil vibe, but great guys nonetheless. Some of the most kindest people I’ve met in my life, which contrasts with the music.”

He continued when asked if he is planning to play any shows with Testament:

“I don’t know, because everything is starting to snowball with Mr. Bungle and Empire State Bastard and the Misfits. I’ve been with the Misfits since 2016. Testament is a well-oiled machine. They’re always touring and releasing albums. To try to find that space or that time to release something… I don’t know.”

He also added the following when asked if that means his future with Testament is “uncertain” at the moment:

“Yes. It’s wait-and-see. I can’t guarantee anything because of my commitments. I did fulfill my contractual commitment for 2022, which was quite extensive. We did one of the longest tours I have done. It was like seven weeks in Europe, which was great. I really needed to get out there and build my chops after the pandemic. That was a lifesaver. We’ll see. The relationship is good. The doors are open. The communication is there. I told them that I was seeing some clashes coming up. This was in the first week of January when I reached out to Eric [Peterson] and told him. This has been brewing for a while. Actually, I saw it in November/December of last year. I started seeing, ‘Oh no. This is going to happen. This is not going to happen.’ It’s very tricky.”

Testament are expected to move forward with touring drummer Chris Dovas (Seven Spires).