NEWS : Dave Lombardo Officially Out of Slayer; Paul Bostaph Returns

Slayer's Tom Araya and Kerry King are very pleased to announce that Paul Bostaph has rejoined the band on a full-time basis. Bostaph will be behind the drum kit beginning June 4 when Slayer kicks off the first leg of its 2013 international tour in Warsaw, Poland. Gary Holt will continue to fill in for fallen guitarist Jeff Hanneman.

Slayer's 2013 itinerary will have the band playing 35 dates that will include headline shows as well as a number of major summer festivals in Europe, Eastern Europe and South America between June and October. The complete itinerary is below.

"Paul's a great drummer and a good friend, and we're very happy that he's decided to rejoin the band," said Tom Araya. "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."

"I'm very excited to be rejoining Slayer," added 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."

Bostaph was Slayer's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums

with the band - the Gold certified Divine Intervention (1994), the 1996 punk covers album Undisputed Attitude, Diabolus in Musica, (1998), God Hates Us All (2001) that received a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance," as well as the DVD War at the Warfield (2001), also certified Gold. In addition to Slayer, Bostaph has been a member of Forbidden, Exodus, Systematic and Testament.

Slayer's 2013 international touring schedule is as follows:

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, UKA
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  

(Source:The Gauntlet)