Strolls in the park, roast dinners, a visit to gran’s or maybe the omnibus edition of
Eastenders come to mind when one thinks of Sunday afternoons. An hour and a half
onslaught of bowel stimulating double-kick metalism from Slayer’s Dave Lombardo
probably doesn’t feature that prominently in most people’s associative memories.
However, for the full-time students of Drumtech, after 10th October, Sunday
afternoons will never be the same.

A reverent silence descended on the crowd as one of the pioneers of double-kick drum
manipulation took to the stage. His clinic, he explained, would consist of a series of
unrehearsed solos, punctuated with informal question and answer sessions.

After a brief warm up period, we were treated to a thunderous display of double kick
mastery and disciplined single stroke intensity over the snare and the toms. Although
reminiscent of Flanders circa 1916, I was surprised at just how dynamic Lombardo’s playing could be. His ghost notes on the snare and the triplet-based rhythms that he executed in beats and fills impressed all in this anachronistic Sunday afternoon crowd.

The relaxed nature of the man ensured that the Q&A’s were unimposing and laid-back. A lot of the students were interested in the mechanics and ergonomics of his set-up and playing. Lombardo explained, as best he could (pretty sure the 80’s and 90’s took their toll on the old brain cells) that his symmetrical double bass drum setting gives him a balance that makes his signature foot control possible.

He also touched on how being left-handed, but playing a right-handed kit configuration has
lent an unique quality to his technique that other drummers find near impossible to replicate.

The inevitable Download/Metallica question popped its head up. With a wry smile,
Lombardo described the excitement and pant filling nervousness of playing virtually
unrehearsed with the zeitgeists of metal, in front of 60,000 punters.

The highlight of the Q&A had to be Lombardo’s response to a question on drumhead tuning. He explained that he aimed for a tonal pitch on the toms that allowed for a melody to be played across them. The melody in question was Mary Had A Little Lamb. The strangest thing I’ve heard in a long time happened right then: he played this serene nursery rhyme with a Howitzer-esque double kick backbeat (this really was a day for square pegs in round holes).

Pushed for time due to Slayer’s gig with Slipknot at the Hammersmith Apollo later that night, Lombardo impressed upon the crowd just how beneficial it is to any musician to be open to all musical styles and genres. His own forays into jazz and use of Afro-Cuban and dance rhythms paid full testament to this point. A purist of metal Dave Lombardo is not.

By Phil Casey (Drumtech 2004 Scholarship Winner)