Dave Lombardo ‘Rites of Percussion’ Review: influential metal drummer gets drum-centric on debut solo album (May 5, Ipecac)
“When the pandemic hit, I thought, ‘Well, I can’t tour now. I immediately started working on the record. It was one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had. I had my studio, all my drums. Nothing was in storage for once! My home became a place where I could be free and creative. On the one hand, the touring part of my livelihood had been taken away, but on the other, I finally had the time to educate myself on different software and recording techniques. It was a very educational and gratifying experience.”
That’s drummer extraordinaire Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Fantomas, Suicidal Tendencies, Testament, The Misfits, Grip Inc., Mr. Bungle, Dead Cross, to name but a few) describing the genesis of Rites of Percussion, his first solo album (May 5, Ipecac).
The idea to do an all drum album came from Lombardo’s Fantomas and Dead Cross collaborator Mike Patton, and Lombardo dove into the project with gusto, employing a host of percussive options, which included, as per his press release “two drum sets (single and double bass kits), a large concert bass drum, a timpani, a grand piano, and a flock of shakers, maracas, Chinese and symphonic gongs, Native American drums, congas, timbales, bongos, batás, wood blocks, djembes, ibos, darbukas, octobans, cajóns, and cymbals.”
Lombardo’s unorthodox approach to a “drum album” is immediately apparent on opener Initiatory Madness, a track full of ominous atmosphere and spacious sonics: this is not an record of a drummer showing off his chops. It’s a release focused on unusual and moody instrumental driven by drums, but also full of space and texture.
Separation For The Sacred is a tour-de-force that would do Lombardo’s hero John Bonham proud, full of rolls, double-kicks, tribal beats, woodblocks and gongs, while Inner Sanctum has the manic energy and horror movie soundscape recalling his work with Fantomas. Interfearium goes even further in ominous tonalities, foregoing any traditional beat in favor of building mood and cavernous acoustics.
Despojo is disorienting and exhausting in the best way, and perhaps the ultimate example of Lombardo’s percussive athleticism, while Warpath’s Latin tinge honors the influence of Top Percussion, an album by Tito Puente that Lombardo received from Patton as a gift (which sparked the genesis of this album way back in 1999).
Omiero sounds like it could be a field recording of some ancient tribe’s drum circle, vast, expansive and tropical, before collapsing into a breakneck metal beat, and album closer Anamisimo brings it all home with an encapsulation of all Lombardo’s gifts.
Rites of Percussion may not be your typical Slayer fan’s cup of tea, but those who favor Lombardo’s more experimental projects should get on board. It’s quirky, moody, and unusual, a true artistic expression that transcends any novelty or expectation. And for drummers, it’s a percussive symphony that should inspire awe and creative inspiration.
