# Dave Lombardo's Drum Setup on Slayer's South of Heaven (1988)

> Dave Lombardo traded blast beats for groove on Slayer's controversial 1988 record. Complete gear breakdown of the Tama Artstar II kit and Paiste RUDE cymbals behind 'Mandatory Suicide' and 'Spill the Blood.'

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Dave Lombardo](/llms/drummers/dave-lombardo.md)
**Band / Album:** Slayer — *South of Heaven* (1988)
**Genre:** Thrash Metal
**Producer:** Rick Rubin
**Studio:** Record One Studios, Sherman Oaks, California

## Overview

Released on July 5, 1988, South of Heaven was Slayer's most controversial creative decision since their formation. Two years after Reign in Blood — arguably the fastest, most extreme metal album ever recorded — Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman, Tom Araya, and Dave Lombardo deliberately slowed down. Critics cried sellout. Fans were divided. But the drumming on South of Heaven revealed a dimension of Lombardo's playing that Reign in Blood's relentless blast beats had left unexplored: pure groove.

Where Reign in Blood demanded stamina and precision at extreme tempos, South of Heaven demanded something harder for many thrash drummers to deliver — restraint and feel. "Mandatory Suicide" and the title track "South of Heaven" open the album at mid-paced tempos that would be unremarkable in any other context, but from Slayer, felt audacious. Lombardo's playing on these tracks demonstrated that the drummer behind "Angel of Death" could swing when the song called for it.

Rick Rubin returned to produce, again working at Record One Studios in Sherman Oaks, California. The drum sound is dry and direct — the same Rubin aesthetic from Reign in Blood, applied to slower tempos that gave individual strokes more space and weight. Where Reign in Blood's speed made everything blur together in the best possible way, South of Heaven's pacing made every snare crack deliberate.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Tama Artstar II (Piano Black finish) — same kit as Reign in Blood
- **Snare:** Tama Superstar Steel, 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Paiste RUDE / 2002 Series — same combination as Reign in Blood
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Tama Iron Cobra (prototype/early production); Tama Titan hi-hat stand; Pro-Mark 2B Wood Tip
- **Heads:** Remo Emperor Coated (batter), Remo Ambassador Snare Side (resonant)
- **Snare tuning:** High tension, tight snare wires — same approach as Reign in Blood

### The Album That Proved Lombardo Could Groove

Dave Lombardo continued with the Tama Artstar II for South of Heaven — the same professional birch kit used on Reign in Blood in 1986. With Rick Rubin producing again, the setup that had created the most intense thrash album ever recorded was now applied to Slayer's most tempo-varied record.

The Artstar II's birch shells retained the punchy, focused attack that defined the Reign in Blood sound, but at South of Heaven's slower tempos, individual drum qualities became more audible. The double bass configuration — two separate 22x16-inch drums — still drove the rhythmic foundation, but now with more space between patterns to breathe.

At the tempos of "South of Heaven" and "Mandatory Suicide," the RUDE cymbals have room to decay — their complex overtones sustaining between hits rather than immediately being crushed by the next stroke. Rubin's minimal production captured this natural cymbal character, making South of Heaven's cymbal sound noticeably different from Reign in Blood despite identical equipment.

### Track Highlights

**Mandatory Suicide (155 BPM):** The track that most divided fans — Slayer playing a recognizable groove. Lombardo's backbeat is measured and deliberate. The Tama Superstar Steel snare anchors the groove; Paiste 2002 hi-hats provide the rhythmic pulse at controlled tempo.

**South of Heaven (148 BPM):** Title track — the slowest Slayer opener since Show No Mercy. Full Artstar II tom configuration showcases birch shell character. Wild Crash transitions carry audible decay between sections.

**Ghosts of War (195 BPM):** The fastest track on the album, approaching Reign in Blood territory. Iron Cobra pedals prove equally effective at extreme tempos. Paiste RUDE China dominant in fast section accents.

**Spill the Blood (120 BPM):** Album closer — Slayer's most balladic track to that point. Snare used as punctuation, not foundation. RUDE crashes deployed sparingly for maximum impact per strike.

## The Evolution Arc

South of Heaven sits between Reign in Blood and Seasons in the Abyss in the Lombardo-era Slayer arc — the point at which the band tested whether their audience would follow them away from pure extremity.

Lombardo used identical equipment across Reign in Blood and South of Heaven: Tama Artstar II, Tama Superstar Steel snare, Paiste RUDE and 2002 cymbals, Iron Cobra pedals. The gear wasn't the variable. The variable was tempo, arrangement, and the musical demands of a band exploring what it meant to be Slayer without maximum speed as the defining characteristic.

At 220+ BPM, technical flaws disappear into the blur. At 148 BPM, every element of technique is exposed — feel, time, dynamics, the quality of each individual stroke. Lombardo's ability to deliver a compelling performance at South of Heaven's slower tempos confirmed that the speed of Reign in Blood was a choice, not a ceiling.

## Key Facts

- Released July 5, 1988 — two years after Reign in Blood
- Produced by Rick Rubin at Record One Studios, Sherman Oaks, California
- Debuted at #57 on the Billboard 200 — highest Slayer chart position to that date
- Same Tama Artstar II kit and Paiste RUDE/2002 cymbal setup as Reign in Blood (1986)
- Double bass configuration: two separate 22x16" bass drums (not a double pedal)
- Estimated kit value: $2,500–3,500 (1988)
- Estimated snare value: $250–350 (1988)

## FAQ

**Q: What drum kit did Dave Lombardo use on South of Heaven?**
Dave Lombardo used the same Tama Artstar II kit for South of Heaven (1988) that he had used on Reign in Blood (1986) — birch shells with die-cast hoops, two 22x16-inch bass drums, 10" and 12" rack toms, and 14" and 16" floor toms. Rick Rubin produced both albums, and the setup remained consistent across the two sessions. The difference between the albums is entirely in the tempo and musical approach, not the equipment.

**Q: Why did Slayer slow down on South of Heaven?**
Slayer deliberately slowed the tempos on South of Heaven as a creative statement — they had taken Reign in Blood's speed as far as it could go, and they wanted to prove they could make a compelling record at mid-paced tempos. Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman designed the album around groove-driven riffs rather than blast-beat structures. For Dave Lombardo, this meant demonstrating a different dimension of his playing: the restraint and feel that Reign in Blood's relentless pace hadn't required.

**Q: What cymbals did Dave Lombardo use on South of Heaven?**
Dave Lombardo used the same Paiste RUDE and 2002 Series cymbal combination on South of Heaven that he had used on Reign in Blood. The setup included Paiste 2002 14-inch Sound Edge Hi-Hats, Paiste RUDE 18-inch and 19-inch Wild Crashes, a Paiste 2002 20-inch Medium Ride, Paiste 2002 18-inch China, and Paiste RUDE 20-inch Wild China. At South of Heaven's slower tempos, the cymbals' decay characteristics are more audible than on Reign in Blood — Wild Crashes sustain between hits, and the Ride is used more prominently in groove contexts.

**Q: Is South of Heaven harder to drum than Reign in Blood?**
South of Heaven requires a different kind of difficulty than Reign in Blood. Reign in Blood demands sustained stamina at extreme tempos — physical endurance, precise double bass execution at 220–250+ BPM. South of Heaven demands groove and feel — the ability to deliver a compelling performance at slower tempos where every technical element is exposed. Many drummers find the latter harder: playing slowly well is a skill separate from playing fast, and Lombardo's performance on tracks like "Mandatory Suicide" demonstrates a groove vocabulary that Reign in Blood's format simply didn't require.

**Q: How does South of Heaven fit in the Lombardo-era Slayer discography?**
South of Heaven (1988) sits between Reign in Blood (1986) and Seasons in the Abyss (1990) in the Lombardo-era Slayer arc. Show No Mercy (1983) was raw and fast; Reign in Blood (1986) was the extreme speed peak; South of Heaven (1988) introduced groove and mid-pace dynamics; Seasons in the Abyss (1990) consolidated that range. After South of Heaven, Lombardo left Slayer for the first time, not returning until Diabolus in Musica (1998) and then the Grammy-winning Christ Illusion (2006).

## Related Articles

- [Reign in Blood drum setup](/articles/reign-in-blood-drum-setup) — the 1986 extreme metal blueprint that South of Heaven deliberately departed from
- [Show No Mercy drum setup](/articles/show-no-mercy-drum-setup) — the 1983 origin, where a 19-year-old Lombardo played Ludwig and Zildjian before the Tama endorsement
- [Dave Lombardo drummer profile](/drummers/dave-lombardo) — complete career overview across both Slayer eras, Fantômas, Suicidal Tendencies, and beyond

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/south-of-heaven-drum-setup

**More LLM resources:** [Site index](/llms.txt) · [Full database](/llms-full.txt) · [Master FAQ](/llms/faq.md) · [Drummer index](/llms/index.md)

*Last updated: 2026-06-25 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*