Kerry King not sure if Lombardo will ever return.

Fans were shocked late last month when drummer Dave Lombardo announced via Facebook that he was no longer a part of Slayer, at least for the time being, after an internal dispute about tour royalties led to his firing – at least according to Lombardo.

Another member of the band has finally chimed in and from the sounds of it, Lombardo’s dissatisfaction with a contract might have just been the final straw in a strained relationship with the band.

Slayer guitarist Kerry King revealed Soundwave TV that frontman Tom Araya had doubts over Lombardo for a while – although King personally wanted to keep him.

When asked whether he saw the dispute that ultimately led to Lombardo’s firing coming, King said: “Tom did. Tom’s been on the fence about Dave for a while and I was pretty much the one that said, “Nah, I’m not comfortable moving on.’

“Then it got thrust to out face, and I took action immediately.”

Neither King or Lombardo are sure if the drummer will ever return behind a Slayer kit but in the meantime, Jon Dette is currently filling in for the band’s Australian tour.

“It’s unfortunate that Dave couldn’t be with us,” King added. “I planned on him being here up until the Monday before I left – then I saw trouble in paradise. Since I’m the mastermind on making decisions like this, I was like, ‘Alright, I’ve got a backup plan.’ I did what I thought was best and we pulled it off.”

Dette, who’s also standing in for Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante during the Australian festival tour, was a member of Slayer between 1996 and 1997.

King says of the logistics of replacing a drummer so suddenly: “I’m like, ‘How are we going to get a visa for whoever goes with us?’ I went, ‘Jon’s with Anthrax, Jon knows our stuff. If he couldn’t do it I don’t think I could have taught it to anybody in time.

“We rehearsed three times and the first show was Brisbane. He’s doing really good. He was completely out of playing for a while, he told me. To just be at the level of playing he is, it’s really awesome.”

Anthrax called Dette up after drummer Charlie Benante became unable to appear in Australia due to ongoing “personal issues.” It’s not known if those issues are related to an incident last year when he and his wife were arrested and charged with domestic battery in front of a child.

So there you have it, no word really on Lombardo’s fate with Slayer.