It’s not every day that a drummer gets to revisit one of metal’s most defining tracks with the same clarity and reverence that Dave Lombardo brings to Slayer’s Raining Blood. During a recent episode of the 100 Songs That Define Heavy Metal podcast, Brian Slagel, CEO of Metal Blade Records, sat down with Lombardo to unpack the origins and impact of the 1986 classic from the album Reign in Blood.
The intro to “Raining Blood” – a now-iconic thunderclap, a triplet of drum hits, and slicing guitar tones – has remained a powerful memory for Lombardo. As he recalls, “Jeff recorded the demo. He recorded the drums and the guitar and presented them 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.”
Lombardo also reflected on how his drumming matured by the time the band recorded Reign in Blood, influenced not only by formative years listening to Iron Maiden, Motörhead, and Judas Priest, but by the producer who would help mold the record into a genre landmark.
“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, and 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, giving credit to Rick Rubin, whose sharp instincts helped Lombardo harness his ideas in a more structured, intentional way: “But then later, when we recorded Reign in Blood, the album’s producer 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.”
What emerged was drumming that became integrated into the song’s structure – not just as rhythm, but as emotional texture: “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 as giving it the right amount of drumming.”
Touring also played a vital role in refining the band’s sonic signature. Lombardo noted that the constant exposure to live performance helped shape how he and the band approached recording.
“What helped immensely was the amount of touring that we were doing. That’s where you really develop your chops, your stamina, and you start hearing things a little differently from the stage perspective. And I think, at least in my experience, that’s where I started hearing music in a different way, in a more performance way, rather than just creative. It’s like, you know, the power that certain rhythms have when they’re performed live, so you try to record those rhythms as authentically as possible. It just comes with experience, and I believe the touring really helped us in developing not only our sound, but our style.”
Released on October 7, 1986, through Def Jam Recordings, Reign in Blood marked the beginning of Slayer’s collaboration with Rubin. Its reputation as one of the most intense and influential thrash metal records ever created is well earned – Kerrang! once called it “the heaviest album of all time.”
Lombardo doesn’t take that legacy lightly. Speaking to Metal Injection in 2021, he offered an unfiltered assessment of what the record still means to him: “I look at that album as a masterpiece. And it’s one of those albums that will stand the test of time. It’s brilliant. The fire, the energy that the album has. I don’t hear that in other records. I don’t know if it’s because I’m listening to a band that I was part of, or that I have this perspective that’s objective. But you know, it’s brilliant and I’m very appreciative … I think that album will forever be like the epitome of thrash music and part of a historic time in music history… Slayer had a certain energy that’s unlike anything else. And so that definitely is for me one of the greatest metal records ever made.”
