We bring you a tale of love and music. Venamoris is a joint musical project by husband-and-wife duo Dave and Paula Lombardo. Our readers will know Dave Lombardo as the hugely pioneering original drummer in Slayer. Paula Lombardo is a singer-songwriter who made her name as a backup singer for “Mr Las Vegas” Wayne Newton before decamping to Nashville to pursue her musical dreams. Along the way, the couple became entwined and married, and Venamoris is the product of their rich musical heritage that manages to take in all of their collective musical knowledge and turn it into something that you’ve never heard them do before. We caught up with the duo to discuss their second album, ‘To Cross Or To Burn,’ out on 28th February on Ipecac Records.
You’re collectively known as Venomoris, and you’re releasing your second album on Ipecac, it’s your first time on the label collectively because it’s not your first time, Dave. You’ve been on many releases. Welcome to both of you.
I want to start this interview by focusing on your journey, Paula. It’s extraordinary. You were a backup singer for a singer known as the Las Vegas Wayne Newton in Vegas. For readers who don’t know why, Newton was at one point a more prominent Vegas showman than Elvis or even Sinatra. When would this have been?
Paula: “I started doing that when I was 18 years old, so many, many years ago. And, worked with him, on and off for about 12 years.”
Then, you went on to try to break through in Nashville as a singer-songwriter. When I hear Nashville, I immediately think of country music. Is that the genre you were trying to break?
Paula: “Yeah. I was doing sort of a country crossover, I guess, into pop, like that kind of vibe. But I really liked the stylings of Willie Nelson, like the old school country. So, I was hoping to go down that path, but that was not in the cards for me,”
I hear it’s very competitive out in Nashville.
Paula: “It is. Yes, absolutely.”
So, you’re doing that. Dave is the drummer for Slayer. How did your paths cross?
Paula: “I moved to California. I’m from Canada originally, and I was just making a life decision on whether I was going to move back to Canada and just start my new life there. But I had some time left on my work visa, and so I decided to go to California just to check it out. We had mutual friends, and I was invited to go to a show, and I had never met Dave or heard of him. I wasn’t, you know, listening to Slayer, I knew of Slayer, but it wasn’t my style of music that I was into. And we just crossed paths and met. And that was the end of 2009, I guess, or no, beginning of 2010 and then we just started chatting. We just started messaging each other for a while. So, yeah, totally innocently.”
Have you been making music together since the beginning of your relationship, or is this a fairly recent development?
Dave: “This is definitely a recent thing. You know, she had, reluctantly, shared her past because in Nashville, when she was there, they didn’t want to hear about her experience with Wayne Newton, she could probably elaborate on that. So, she was reluctant to tell me, she didn’t want to say anything. Then, you know, as time went on, she told me that she was a backup singer for Wayne. Then, after that a while, she shared some demos, and then I started taking these demos with me on the road and listening to them on my laptop in my hotel room while I was on tour with Slayer and I was impressed, and I was like, wow, this is this is really cool. But we were never able to find a method of operation. Like, how are we going to create any kind of music? You know, we would need more musicians involved with staff if that was the case. I play several different instruments, but I’m not that savvy yet.
So that’s where I was lacking. And then she played acoustic guitar, and I was trying to learn off of her. I got myself a left-handed guitar because I’m a left-handed guitar player. And so, I tried to elaborate on what she was doing, and it didn’t work. Then the pandemic hit. So, we’re talking ten years later after we met, and I had invested in my recording studio, and I started writing my solo record, ‘Rites Of Percussion’ and, and I started sharing with her some of the software that’s out there like, MIDI software with keyboards and sounds and synthesizers and stuff. It turns out that her main instrument was the piano. So, I told her, I said, well, you could lay down a melody, and we could separate the left hand from the right hand within the computer software. And we could add certain synth sounds to one side and another synth sound to another side, and I could add drums, and we could create music that way. That opened the floodgates for her. It’s like, whoa, I can work within these parameters. That’s how the first album developed, and it went on from there.”
This new album is a spectacular record. It takes in a broad range of styles and flavours. On the opening track, ‘Stay With Me’, you’ve got that sweet, loungy vibe, albeit with an ominous-sounding tone. Then it goes via trip-hop, jazz, and cinematic vibes to eventually crescendo into overdriven guitars. Was the mission to make an album that encapsulates all of your current collective musical loves?
Paula: “I think the first album was kind of like Dave said, it was more of a learning, learning who I was in that moment, learning how to write again and do it in a way where I didn’t have so many things holding me back. Like the lack of instrumentation that didn’t allow me to explore specific chord structures and that kind of thing because I was so limited on the guitar. So, the first album, I think, was just kind of a journal, lyrically innocent. A journal, like a diary. Then I think this one has maybe more confidence in it and allowed Dave and I to know how to work together. I think that this allowed us to just, like you said, blend both of our paths and, the kind of music that I listen to now and what inspires me now, I think is all able to come out and, you know, lyrically, Dave was on tour, and I tend to write a lot of lyrics when he’s on tour because it’s a heavier time for me when, when I’m by myself, so I think the lyrics just started coming out kind of heavy and that also really set the tone for the direction this was going to go.
Dave: So what’s interesting is that we hadn’t released the first record, and it was scheduled for early 2023, and I was on tour with Testament in 2022, and we were wrapping up the album cover art at that time and so summer of 2022, she started firing off these new songs, you know, just her own piano and vocals and I was like, wow, this is really cool. For example, ‘Burnt Paper’, I said, wow, this has got a Celtic, marching vibe. It’s kind of weird. It had a certain feel as well as the single ‘In the Shadows’ that had a certain feel to it. I said, wow, this is really cool. We hadn’t even finished releasing the first one. And we were already starting to develop the second one. So it was moving. It started moving fairly quickly.
Vocally, it is refreshing to hear a pure performance with total enunciation on this record. This doesn’t get talked about a lot with vocals; you get the words and the meaning so clearly. It sometimes reminds me of Beth Gibbons of Portishead.
Paula: “Amazing. Thank you. She’s so brilliant, I love her!”
I was getting those vibes and Beth Orton. The production, as well, which I know you did yourselves, is very up close on the mic. You can tell you’ve delicately produced it, so you have that intimate feel. Was that Portishead style an influence on the recording?
Paula: “I think when Dave and I first met, I don’t want to sound negative, but I was very close-minded with music, meaning I really loved what I loved, you know, back in the 70s and 80s, like, just the early 90s. You know, I was obsessed with Anne Wilson, for example. I absolutely love her. I held vocalists to a very specific standard. I thought everything had to be perfect at all times. I was very perfectionist-driven, which is not a good thing. Dave started playing me music. Portishead was, I think, the first one. Jucifer was another one, and I was blown away at these women and just how they delivered a song and how impactful it was; they could bring me to tears as if they were speaking to me. Which then takes me back to the Willie Nelson style that I love, which is speaking the song like Johnny Cash does. Yeah, you know, three chords and the truth kind of idea. And so I think that they definitely influenced me coming back to music and the approach of just singing your song and trying to reach people as authentically as you can. Just being yourself instead of trying to clean everything up and make it perfect. So I would say that’s the influence from those bands, but I don’t actively listen to them all the time or anything like that. So I’d be remiss in saying, you know, that I do.”
The vocals feel personal as if speaking directly to you rather than addressing a crowd. It’s refreshing. Is there a common theme or lyrical throughline on the album?
Paula: “I feel like for this one, a lot of it is self-reflection and soul searching. You know, I go through a lot of that, just as we all do as we grow. So I think just coming to terms with certain things in life, yeah, I think it’s self-reflection.”
Dave: Also dealing with certain personalities and certain humans and their negative influence on you. ‘Spider Web’, the second single. It talks about how narcissism could really break you down in a lot of ways, and sometimes we don’t even know that that’s happening to us, you know, whether it’s in a relationship, like a personal relationship or a friendship. It could be business, and you don’t know that until you really understand the traits of somebody like that.”
Paula: “There’s also working through a lot of pain, working through, talking to a friend or whatever and hearing what they’re going through and then realising, wow, I went through things similar, and you start maybe addressing your pain a little bit more. There’s a song called ‘Truth’, where I repeat the words, “It was the use of me, the abuse of me.” It’s acknowledging the various times in life that that has happened in whatever stage of life that that’s happened. So I think it’s a journey again, but a lot of self-reflection here and I think a lot of healing, too.”
Dave, an amazing fact that our readers might not be aware of is that while you’re well-known for pioneering extreme metal drumming, what may not be as widely recognized is that you are also a multi-instrumentalist and the producer of this album. In fact, Paula has been quoted in press releases saying that you have nearly as many guitars as you do drum kits. Could you share your thoughts on that? What other musical talents do you possess, and how did they develop? Have you always been a multi-instrumentalist, or are these skills something you picked up along the way?
Dave: “Let’s see. I remember when I was really very young, my mom and dad, you know, we used to go to parties, house parties, and, you know, I grew up in a Cuban household, and families would get together on special holidays and stuff, and music would be blaring out of the stereo. Sometimes, there’d be just percussionists just hanging out in the garage and parents, you know, drinking and just socialising and whatnot. I remember there was one family we used to visit, and, there used to be this lady that played the piano, and she would sit and play the piano all night, and everyone would sing along, and my mom would sit right next to her and listen to her play and sing along to the songs that she would perform, and I remember my mom saying that piano was her favourite. So, for Christmas, I remember getting a little organ; I had to have been probably, probably 4 or 5 years old. You know, this little organ and I remember, I didn’t know how to play it. You know, I try to teach myself by the little booklet that it came with, but I remember experimenting and putting notes together that sounded creepy and would scare the shit out of me.
Then I just turned it off and walked away because it gave me the creeps. And then later on, I think this had been around, I think, fourth grade, because I got into the marching band and played drums at school. A friend down the street let me borrow his guitar, but I was left-handed and could not figure out how to play right-handed. So, I’d flip the guitar around and, you know, fumble my way through it. But that didn’t work. So, that was an instrument I really didn’t focus on until probably had to have been sometime in the 90s; I bought myself a left-handed guitar and started teaching myself how to play. And I co-wrote some songs with Grip Inc. back in the day. So, then I started to collect guitars, but a lot of them didn’t make it after a certain period of my life. In other words, I don’t have them anymore. And then slowly, after Paula and I got married, I started collecting guitars again.”
I have a few; I don’t think too many. You know.
Paula: “Don’t make me do a count right now, George!”
I’ve had this conversation with couples a lot, ha-ha.
Dave: “The whole engineering thing, because I did engineer the record and produced it. Right after high school, you know, my parents were like, “Okay, you got a job? You graduated from high school. What are you going to do? You know, your education?” Some people were going to college, and I signed up for an engineering course in Hollywood. It was called Crossroads of the World. But, you know, history shows that Slayer started taking off, and I didn’t take on that path. But I’ve always had this interest in engineering, and I’ve had studios in my home ever since the early 90s; the Grip Inc. demos were recorded in those studios. So, yeah, that’s my story.”
In 2023, Dave, you released your album ‘Rites of Percussion,’ which serves as a love letter to drumming. Was this consciously or unconsciously a way of acknowledging that you were preparing to release more instrumental work and wanted to express your thoughts through the drums?
Dave: “No, that record had been in the works, or at least in the back of my mind, for years. I even presented it to Patton, and Patton said, I mean, this was back when Patton and I first met. He insisted that I do something like that, and he said back then that he would put it on his record label. So it took me this long to actually be in the right state of mind and in the right relationship to create something like that.”
We know your work with Slayer. But I think of your drumming in a much broader sense due to your playing with artists such as John Zorn or Mike Patton, of course, and now with Misfits. Has it always been your desire to be such a flexible musician? You fit into so many different types of ensembles.
Dave: “I think that’s just by nature. I’m a bit of a chameleon. But also, I think it goes back to when I was a little kid, and I used to, if I’d go to a friend’s house, you know, a couple of blocks away, and I’d hear a rock band practicing in a garage or some kid practicing his guitar or drums, you know, and you hear it because we didn’t have, obviously social media or anything like that. We had to get out of the house and go explore. I would knock on the door or walk into the garage; hey, can I watch? Hey, can I play your drums? You know, or hey, I play drums you want to jam? Then, when I got into junior high school, I started meeting like-minded musicians, and then we started collaborating. Slayer was not my first band. I got into Slayer at 16, but I got my first drum set at 13, so I had a couple of different bands at that time. And I jammed with several musicians in my bedroom, in their bedroom, or in their garage. You know, it was pretty cool. So it’s been going on for a while. That’s just how I do it. And so that kind of carried over into this life where if I hear a musician or band, it’s like, wow, I’d love to jam with those guys. You know? So that door is always open for me. You know, I don’t get comfortable in one scenario.”
You have a deep fondness for music, almost as if it’s more of an honour for you to play than just a job.
Dave: “That’s definitely how I feel a lot of the time. Yes, absolutely. It’s always exciting for me, and when I’m not doing it, I yearn for it; I crave it and really need it in my life. It’s part of my DNA.”
That comes across. Of course, I’m speaking to you right now from Britain, and I have to ask about one of your most surprising acts, Empire State Bastard with Simon Neil from Biffy Clyro. None of us saw that coming.
Dave: “Me neither, because I was in the middle of a couple of projects, including my drum record. Wrapping up the drum record, I was working on Satanic Planet, Annihilator, Body Count and This is during the pandemic, and they shoot me off an email. I told Paula that I could not take on any other projects. No, no, no, she said.”
Paula: “Dave, this just came in, you know, in an email, I think you really need to pay attention to this. I skimmed through three songs, and I’m like, no, he has to hear this. This is really, really good.”
Dave: “And it was! She was my buffer. I was like, I don’t want anything coming to me and distracting me because I’m working, and she said, you know, you really have to listen to this”.
Paula: “Yeah. And he was blown away.”
Dave: “You know, I was a little bit like, no, I don’t, I cannot take any of…Then when I heard it, I said oh shit.”
Paula: “He was like, okay, let me think about this for a minute.”
And you just squeezed it in.
Dave: “Yeah, I heard the guitars. You know Mike Vincent’s from Oceansize?”
He’s such a cool cat.
Dave: “Yeah, I love it, and then Simon Neil, his voice, and then I saw some footage from Biffy Clyro. I said I see he wants to try something different and, you know, just expand, dabble in something else because he had. I think he had played Marmaduke Duke, I think, a little bit, but yeah. And he had that other project, but he really wanted to try something in the hardcore realm. Yeah, I agreed yeah. Fantastic band and Naomi McCloud, she’s great, you know. Awesome. Yeah, we recorded another album, you know?”
Well, that was my next question! Is there more?
Dave: “Yes, I started in July, and I wrapped up drum tracks for the second album. So now Biffy is going to be doing some shows and, you know, maybe we’ll revisit it or… I don’t know; we’ll see how it goes.”
Well, you recently performed at the Bastard Fest in Sheffield, and you had an incredible support line-up, which included Heriot, Conjuror, Pupil Slicer, and Hidden Mothers. Are you always listening to what’s going on in the underground these days?
Dave: “Oh, yes. You have to keep your ear to the ground and see what’s coming out and see what you’re up against. You know, and it’s always inspiring. You have all these new bands, and it doesn’t have to be metal. It could be like, you know, hardcore, punk, or there was one band that I really enjoyed touring with Benefits.”
Oh, yeah. Incredible band.
Dave: “Right, I loved his kind of spoken word poetry, you know.”
Really confrontational, isn’t it?
Dave: “Oh my God, it was awesome. Yeah. Always listening, searching for new music and inspiration.”
Are there any plans to take Venomoris on the road? Will there be a live show?
Paula: “There are no plans at this moment. No. Dave’s laughing because this man thrives. He loves to be on the stage so much. So, he would go tomorrow if it was. I’m a little more hesitant.”
Dave: “But I’m a dreamer, you know, and I picture this on stage.”
Paula: “Yeah, he is already over dinner while we’re cooking. You know, he has taken cups, glasses, and plates out of the cabinet to show me how the stage would be set up. So, he’s got this all planned out, but, yeah, there’s no plans right now, though.”
Well, as Rodgers and Hammerstein said, if you don’t have a dream, you can’t have a dream come true. Lastly, I’m asking this question to all of my guests this year, and it will be a playlist at the end of the year.
If you had to put one track each on the national curriculum in schools for every child to listen to before they were 18, what would that track be?
Dave: “Meaning us, of our music or anything?”
Anything, any genre. What do you think is essential listening for any kid growing up?
Dave: “Oh, man, that’s a big guy.”
Paula: “Yeah, that’s difficult because there’s so many genres.”
Dave: “You have to narrow down first. Yeah. That’s difficult. George. You really put me on the spot. I don’t know.”
This is why it’s my question. We’ve had all kinds of answers to this. We’ve had everything from Adele to Rage Against the Machine…
Paula: “Yeah, I’m all over the place. I mean, obviously, Dave and I have very different backgrounds in music. So, you know, I feel like I would have to say something from The Outlaws, like, The Highwaymen or something from Johnny Cash because they’re just prolific. (Paula laughs) Oh man, you’re going to pull out… he’s pulling out his phone. He’s going to start looking for music now. Yeah, trying to wing it. It’s just so complicated what Dave said. It’s like there’s so many different genres.”
Dave: “I think every drummer, you know, being that drums are my main instrument. I think every drummer should, or at least everybody needs to listen to Tito Puente in his contribution to percussion and drums. That’s where I’ll go. If you want to go into metal? Have them listen to Slayer.”
Paula: “I’ll narrow down the country thing. I was just thinking the song, ‘Crazy’, that Willie Nelson wrote that Patsy Cline, you know, made amazing. I would say that one because it’s a lesson in publishing. It’s a lesson in simple song writing. And, you know, he sold that song for like $50, and that was it. It was originally called ‘Stupid’. And it’s such a simple lesson in songwriting and how to put something across. But, you know, there’s a lot of lessons around there. So, I’ll go with ‘Crazy’.
That’s amazing. Paula and Dave, I love it. Thank you so much for talking with me today. It’s been an absolute honour. I wish you all the very best with the record.
Dave: “Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed it. More to come in. See you later!”
https://venamoris.lnk.to/cross / Venamoris Facebook
‘To Cross or to Burn?’ is released on the 28th of February on Ipecac.
Interview By George Miller
Photos: Hannah Verbeuren