"They've got Dette doing it. He used to be in Slayer. (...) Dette is already here and knows Slayer songs well."

Soon after Slayer confirmed that they have tapped Jon Dette as drummer for their Australian tour, which starts this Saturday, February 23 in Brisbane.

This update follows the recent news that Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo has been fired from the band - at least for the group's upcoming Australian tour dates - over some business issues.

Slayer issued the following official statement in response to Dave's explanation on facebook, probably written by the band's management or one of their lawyers:

"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."

Dave Lombardo had three stints as the drummer of Slayer: he was with the thrash legends from 1981 through 1986, returned in 1987 and stayed until 1992, and then returned again in 2002.

His future with Slayer beyond the Australian tour remains uncertain.