Former SLAYER and current SUICIDAL TENDENCIES drummer Dave Lombardo was interviewed on a recent installment of the “Peer Pleasure” podcast.

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Asked at which point he knew that SLAYER had finally become successful, Lombardo said: “I think once we signed with Rick Rubin, once the major label interest happened, that moment, I think that was a turning point. It was, like, ‘Wait, we’re doing something special. We’re gaining the attention of major companies, and managers as well.’ I remember… Well, it was this manager. [Q Prime co-founder] Cliff Burnstein shows up at SLAYER‘s rehearsal. And Cliff Burnstein was about to choose whether he wanted METALLICA or SLAYER. And that happened. He obviously chose METALLICA. But there was a lot of interest [in SLAYER] from people. And, of course, we started playing bigger venues and traveling a lot more. So I think about that period was when everything just changed. We knew that we were on to something.”

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Lombardo was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the band’s Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. He has since been replaced by Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER‘s drummer from 1992 until 2001.