As Slayer do press during their current North American tour, one subject that has been coming up often is the circumstances behind former drummer Dave Lombardo's departure from the band.

In a recent interview on former WWE champion 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's podcast, guitarist Kerry King talked about Lombardo's exit (transcription via Blabbermouth).

"When Dave was in [the band] this last time, I figured I'd be on the stage with him until one of us fell off the stage, dead. Things change. He got some bad advice and listened to some bad advice, gave us an ultimatum ten days before we went to Australia [to do the Soundwave festival tour]. And I said, 'I can't have this over my head.'"

"And I feel bad for Dave to this day; I really feel bad for him because he shot himself in the foot," King continued. "Maybe he thought he had the upper hand, but you ain't gonna get me…. Before I got home, I knew exactly what I was going to do for Australia."

You can listen to the complete podcast here.

Frontman Tom Araya also discussed Lombardo's departure in a recent interview, and talked about Lombardo's reaction after Slayer told him his services would no longer be required. “He was really upset about that," Araya said.. "He wrote a rant on Facebook. He said some things that he shouldn’t have. It really upset us.”

Slayer are currently on the road with Gojira and 4Arm. They'll wrap up the tour Nov. 30 in Boston.

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