Slayer guitarist Kerry King says it was easy to bring back drummer Paul Bostaph for a third stint.
He replaced original sticksman Dave Lombardo again in 2013, and appears on the band’s 11th album Repentless, due in September.
King tells Fuse: “Paul’s a machine. I don’t worry about him at all. He would never have been out of Slayer if he didn’t quit twice. It was never over anything personal. He was always my friend so it was very easy for him to come back and be a part again.”
He adds that there’s a “weird” coincidence surrounding Bostaph’s return. “The new album comes out September 11 again, and the last time we put out a record on September 11 it was God Hates Us All, and that was the last record Paul was on. It’s kind of like lost time for him.”
King has previously discussed how he decided that Exodus guitarist Gary Holt – who replaced the late Jeff Hanneman – wouldn’t be invited to write songs for his studio debut.
Now he adds: “I thought a very long time about how I wanted to proceed with that. In order to keep him interested I said, ‘I’d love you to play some leads, so you’ll feel like you’ve actually contributed – it’s not completely a cover to you.’”
He says of Repentless: “If you’ve ever been a Slayer fan at any point in our career, you’ll like this record.”
The band streamed the title track last week.
Slayer tour dates
Jun 16: Huntington Paramount, NY
Jun 17: Huntington Paramount, NY
Jun 18: Portland State Theatre, ME
Jun 20: Montebello Amnesia Rockfest, QC
Jun 26: San Diego Sleep Train Amphitheatre, CA
Jun 27: San Bernardino San Manuel Amphitheatre, CA
Jun 28: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Jun 30: Seattle White River Amphitheatre, WA
Jul 01: Boise Ford Idaho Center, ID
Jul 03: Phoenix Ak-Chin Pavilion, AZ
Jul 04: Albuquerque Isleta Amphitheatre, AZ
Jul 05: Denver Red Rocks Amphitheatre, CO
Jul 07: Council Bluffs Harrah’s, IA
Jul 08: Milwaukee Eagles Ballroom, WI
Jul 10: Indianapolis Klipsch Music Center, IN
Jul 11: Detroit DTE Energy Music Center, IN
Jul 12: Chicago First Midwest Amphitheatre, IL
Jul 15: Toronto Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, ON
Jul 17: Pennsauken Susquehanna Bank Arts, NJ
Jul 18: Pittsburgh First Niagara, PA
Jul 19: Hartford Xfinity Theatre, CT
Jul 21: Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ
Jul 24: Bristow Jiffy Lube Live, VA
Jul 25: Winthrop Xfinity Center, MA
Jul 26: Wantagh Nikon Theatre At Jones Beach, NY
Jul 29: Atlanta Aaron’s Amphitheatre At Lakewood, GA
Jul 31: San Antonio White Water Amphitheatre, TX
Aug 01: Houston Cynthia Woods Pavilion, TX
Aug 02: Dallas Gexa Energy Pavilion, TX
Oct 25: Tilburg, Netherlands
Oct 26: Paris Le Zenith, France
Nov 05: Milan Alcatraz, Italy
Nov 07: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Nov 08: Leipzig Haus Auensee, Germany
Nov 10: Munich Kulturhalle, Germany
Nov 12: Berlin C-Halle, Germany
Nov 13: Berlin C-Halle, Germany
Nov 15: Ludwigsburg MHP Arena, Germany
Nov 16: Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle, Germany
Nov 17: Brussels AB Hall, Belgium
Nov 19: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Nov 21: Newport Centre, UK
Nov 22: Plymouth Pavilions, UK
Nov 24: Manchester O2 Apollo, UK
Nov 25: Glasgow O2 Academy, UK
Nov 26: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Nov 27: Birmingham O2 Academy, UK
Nov 28: Leeds O2 Academy, UK
Nov 30: London O2 Academy Brixton, UK
