SUICIDAL TENDENCIES Frontman MIKE MUIR: Sharing The Stage With DAVE LOMBARDO Is 'A Great Experience'

Mike Muir has told Bad Feeling Magazine that having former SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo playing for SUICIDAL TENDENCIES is an "absolutely amazing" experience. "It's funny, because years ago people were saying, 'You've always got these young guys playing,'" he said. "Brooks Wackerman was 14 when he started playing with INFECTIOUS [GROOVES], and he got into SUICIDAL and now he's in AVENGED SEVENFOLD. Robert [Trujillo] from METALLICA, all these different people. Josh Freese, who [was there] before Brooks, was 17 when he started playing with us, and he's gone on to play on literally everybody's record.

"We had done a tour in the early '90s with SLAYER in Europe, a tour called 'Clash Of The Titans', and I would just watch Dave play every night, going, 'Wow, this dude is insane,'" he continued. "You kind of think there's no way someone can keep playing that way and that long, but when we had the situation with our drummer, friends were, like, 'Dude, call Dave.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, yeah, call Dave. That's like calling a supermodel up and asking for a date.' We were friends, but just friends enough where I was, like, 'Dude, I don't want to make him feel awkward.' It was like I was 14 again, going, 'Uh, hey, Debbie, you want to go to the movies?' One of those ones, pacing around and nervous. I'd seen SLAYER before they had a record out and he'd seen SUICIDAL before we had a record out.

"The thing about Dave is, a lot of people, when they're doing something so long, they get their cheat sheet, they figure out an easier way of doing things," Muir added. "He takes every show as being very important, the same way we do. We don't want to be a nostalgia act, like an 'Oh, yeah, back in the day…' kind of thing.

"People know him mostly from SLAYER and a certain style, but he's actually an amazing, versatile drummer. We'll play all kinds of different things at practice, and he's got amazing rhythm. And he always says, 'I'm Cuban, man. Of course I've got rhythm!' He really adds a tremendous amount to the band, and it's a great experience to be able to get onstage with him and just hear the drums just roaring. It's amazing."

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES recruited THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's Ben Weinman to play guitar for them on their North American run of shows in July.

Guitarist Jeff Pogan announced his departure from SUICIDAL TENDENCIES earlier in the month. He wrote in an Instagram post: "I have decided to leave SUICIDAL TENDENCIES for personal reasons. This means I will not be playing on any of the upcoming shows or tours. I wish the guys the best of luck and am grateful for all of the experiences I had with them."

Pogan had been the guitarist for SUICIDAL TENDENCIES since 2016. During his tenure with the band, he played on their most recent full-length studio album, 2016's "World Gone Mad", and the "Get Your Fight On!" EP, which came out in March.

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES will release a new full-length album, titled "Still Cyco Punk After All These Years", in September.