Dave Lombardo received an unwelcome letter earlier, when his own band’s solicitor informed him his services won’t be required for Slayer’s upcoming Australian tour.
Dave made a statement which pointed towards his recent interest in the band’s income as the reason. According to Dave, Slayer are only taking home 10% of their touring gross which they then have to split four ways. After starting an investigation with singer Tom Araya, Dave claims to have been cut out of communication and now he’s out of the band (for now at least).
Drummer Jon Ditti will fill in for Dave for the dates listed below. Guitarist Jeff Hanneman is still inactive while recovering from an arm infection.
2/23 – RNA Showgrounds – Brisbane, Australia
2/24 – Olympic Park – Sydney, Australia
3/1 – Flemington Racecourse – Melbourne, Australia
3/2 – Bonython Park – Adelaide, Australia
3/4 – Claremont Showgrounds – Perth, Australia
*UPDATED: 23:15
Slayer have released the following statement to Blabbermouth.net
“SLAYER confirms that Jon Dette will drum for the band on its Australian tour that starts this Saturday, February 23 in Brisbane. As regards Dave Lombardo’s Facebook post, SLAYER does not agree with Mr. Lombardo’s substance or the timeline of the events, except to acknowledge that Mr. Lombardo came to the band less than a week before their scheduled departure for Australia to present an entirely new set of terms for his engagement that were contrary to those that had been previously agreed upon. The band was unable to reach an agreement on these new demands in the short amount of time available prior to leaving for Australia. There is more to the account than what Mr. Lombardo has offered, but out of respect to him, SLAYER will not be commenting further. SLAYER is grateful to its Australian fans for their understanding of this unfortunate last-minute change, and very much looks forward to seeing them at these shows.”
'Ticket's There' - Irish and International Music Blog 