Dave Lombardo recalls how Slayer’s “Raining Blood” was written

One of the most influential Thrash Metal bands of all time, Slayer released many praised albums. One of their most successful records is “Reign in Blood”, which has big classics like “Raining Blood”. In an interview with Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel, Lombardo recalled how the track was written.

At the time, the band had their classic line-up with Tom Araya (Vocals/bass), Jeff Hanneman (Guitar), Kerry King  (Guitar) and Dave Lombardo (Drums).

Dave Lombardo recalls how Slayer’s “Raining Blood” was written

“Jeff. Jeff recorded the demo. He recorded the drums and the guitar and presented that to us at rehearsal. And we thought it was a little odd. It was, like, ‘What? You just want it to start this way?’ And I don’t know where the idea, where the rain came in. But the song was practically done, and it was on cassette. And we thought it was great, at least once the riff kicked in. That blew us away.”

“I think — well, especially with that song… I had an idea of what I was doing in the first three records that we did, three, four records, from learning by listening to other drummers. At that time, obviously, it was Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Judas Priest. So the drummers at that time laid the groundwork for me. And learning those songs and playing those songs with Slayer really helped me hone in my ability to contribute drums to music that was presented to me.”

He continued:

“But then later, [when we recorded] ‘Reign In Blood’, Rick Rubin really kind of honed my creativity and he helped me apply the creativity in very special places that impacted the next part of the song. So let’s say when the vocals — let’s say in the verse. You keep that space open. You can add little, tiny nuances, but you don’t wanna overplay, because then you’re taking away from the vocals. And then when the chorus comes in, or the bridge or whatever, he helped me hone in my creativity and add, let’s say, a creative drum roll to lead into the next section.”

“So I think that’s where you’re hearing, as a listener, the drums being played in a more melodic form as it’s part of the song instead of, ‘I’m playing drums and I need to show you how good I am at these chops that I’ve developed through the years.’ It wasn’t about that. It’s about the song and making it as special and giving it the right amount of drumming,” Dave Lombardo said (Transcribed by Blabbermouth).

Slayer was formed in Huntington Park, California back in 1981 and was active until 2019. They reunited in 2024 and are playing on selected festival dates. Kerry King recently released his solo debut album “From Hell I Rise” (2024).