Lombardo claims he wasn’t paid for the band’s 2012 tour, except for a small advance, and that he was told he wouldn’t be paid until he signed a long form contract that gave him “no written assurance of how much or on what basis management would deduct commissions.”

Days after proposing a new business model to his bandmates, Lombardo said he received an email Feb. 14 from lawyers saying he had been replaced on the Australian tour.

Here’s Slayer’s statement:  

“Slayer confirms that Jon Dette (Testament) will drum for the band on its Australian tour that starts this Saturday, February 23 in Brisbane. As regards [to] Dave Lombardo’s Facebook post, Slayer does not agree with Mr. Lombardo’s substance or the timeline of the events, except to acknowledge that Mr. Lombardo came to the band less than a week before their scheduled departure for Australia to present an entirely new set of terms for his engagement that were contrary to those that had been previously agreed upon.  The band was unable to reach an agreement on these new demands in the short amount of time available prior to leaving for Australia. There is more to the account than what Mr. Lombardo has offered, but out of respect to him, Slayer will not be commenting further. Slayer is grateful to its Australian fans for their understanding of this unfortunate last-minute change, and very much looks forward to seeing them at these shows.”

Click here to read Pollstar’s initial story about Lombardo’s announcement.