Slayer Welcomes Drummer Back

This marks the second return to Slayer for drummer Bostaph.  Having first joined in 1992 he first left in 1996 to work on solo material, but rejoined the following year.  Bostaph’s second time leaving Slayer was in late 2001, and resulted in the band bringing original drummer Dave Lombardo back into the group.

Now the switcheroo has Bostaph in, Lombardo out.  Slayer’s first show with Bostaph will be June 4 at the Impact Festival in Warsaw, Poland.

The change behind the drum kit comes just weeks after Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman succumbed to alcohol related cirrhosis.  Hanneman had been out of action since being bitten by a spider in 2011, resulting in a case of the flesh eating disease necrotizing fasciitis.

“Paul’s a great drummer and a good friend, and we’re very happy that he’s decided to rejoin the band,” Slayer’s Tom Araya said.  “We’re still pretty numb from the loss of Jeff, but we don’t want to disappoint our European and South American fans, and we need to begin moving forward … having Paul back in the band makes that a whole lot easier.”