Slayer Officially Replace Drummer Dave Lombardo With Paul Bostaph

After much unrest within the lineup of Slayer, founding drummer Dave Lombardo has been officially replaced by veteran thrash stickman and previous Slayer member Paul Bostaph.

Bostaph has led an incredible career as a metal drummer. Having began his thrash domination with Forbidden, Bostaph became Slayer's official drummer from 1992-1996 and once again from 1997-2002. The percussionist contributed to three full-length Slayer records, 'Divine Intervention,' 'Diabolus in Musica' and 'God Hates Us All,' along with the band's 1996 covers album, 'Undisputed Attitude.' Bostaph has also manned the kit for Testament, Exodus, Systematic and Geoff Tate's version of Queensryche.

"Paul's a great drummer and a good friend, and we're very happy that he's decided to rejoin the band," says Slayer frontman Tom Araya. "We're still pretty numb from the loss of [guitarist] Jeff [Hanneman], 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."

"I'm very excited to be rejoining Slayer," adds Bostaph. "We spent a very intense ten years of our lives together, had a lot of fun, made a lot of great music, so for me, this feels like coming home."

Slayer have committed to a total of 35 tour dates throughout Europe and South America in the next coming months, with Exodus shredder Gary Holt continuing to fill in for the late and legendary Jeff Hanneman. Check out Slayer's full list of 2013 dates below.

JUNE
4 Impact Festival 2013, Warsaw, Poland
6 Muziek Theatre, Enschede, Holland
7 Rodahal, Kerkrade, Holland
8 Sonisphere France, Amneville, France
10-11 The Academy, Dublin, Ireland
12 Limelight, Belfast, Ireland
14 Greenfield Festival, Interlaken, Switzerland
15 Geox Theatre, Padova, Italy
17 Antlantico, Rome, Italy
18 Obihall, Florence, Italy
19 Alcatraz, Milan, Italy
21 Metalfest Germany, St. Goarshausen, Germany
22 See-Rock Festival 2013, Graz, Austria
23 Culture Factory/Tvornica Kulture, Zagreb, Croatia
25 Kombank Arena, Belgrade, Serbiz
26 Hegyalja Festival, Tokaj, Hungary
27 With Full Force, Leipzig, Germany
29 Hi Voltage, Istanbul, Turkey

JULY
1 Heavy By The Sea, Athens, Greece

AUGUST
2 Resurrection Festival, Viviero, Spain
6 Vega Main Hall, Copenhagen, Denmark
7 Grona Lund Tivoli Outdoor, Stockholm, Sweden
9 Jalomethallifestival 2013, Oulu, Finland
10 Oya Festival, Oslo, Norway
11 Bloodstock Open Air 2013, Derby, UK
15 Pukkelpop Festival, Kiweit Hasselt, Belgium
16 Low Lands Festival, Biddinghuizen, Holland
17 Elb-Riot Open Air Festival, Hamburg, Germany
18 X Rockfest, Herford, Germany

SEPTEMBER
17 Foro Sol, Mexico City, Mexico
20 Jockey Club, Sao Paulo, Brazil
22 Rock In Rio 2013, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
24 Pedreira Paulo Leminski, Curitiba, Brazil
27 River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina
29 Jockey Club, Asuncion, Paraguay

OCTOBER
2 Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile