Slayer drummer replacement announced

Following the shock news that Slayer's Dave Lombardo will not make the trip to Australia for Soundwave, festival boss AJ Maddah has confirmed the drummer's replacement via Twitter.

When questioned if Slayer were pulling out of Soundwave, AJ replied, “No. Dette is already here and knows Slayer songs well”.

AJ is referring to Jon Dette, an experienced heavy metal drummer and ex-member of Slayer. Dette is already filling in for Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante at Soundwave and has performed with Evilhead, Testament, Apocalypse and Killing Machine previously. He joined Slayer in 1996 when Paul Bostaph departed the band to work on side-project, The Truth About Seafood.

Last night KYS reported Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo will not be touring Australia due to a dispute over the band’s current business model.

* update *

Slayer have also released a statement confirming Jon Dette as Lombardo’s replacement (via Blabbermouth).

"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."

Soundwave kicks off tomorrow at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds.

@cazzaconspiracy no. Dette is already here and knows Slayer songs well.

— AJ (@iamnotshouting) February 21, 2013

@simonvalentine1 they've got Dette doing it. He used to be in Slayer.

— AJ (@iamnotshouting) February 21, 2013