After Slayer and drummer Dave Lombardo parted ways two years ago, Lombardo focused all of his energy on his power trio PHILM. Along with vocalist Gerry Nestler (of Civil Defiance) and bassist Pancho Tomaselli (of War), PHILM released its debut Harmonic in 2012—a set that drew from an improvisational, hardcore mindset. Last September, the alt-metal band followed it up with their second album, Fire From The Evening Sun. According to Lombardo, it’s a totally different animal: “I believe this album has a daring, callous temperament about it that really sums up our mindset right now.  No improvising, no fluff.  It’s heavy and in your face from start to finish.” Bassist Tomaselli, who met Lombardo at a drum clinic in Los Angeles, wouldn’t tell Myspace about the origins of their name (“Each one of us has a different opinion about that.”), but he spoke on their influences, and what’s next for PHILM.

Hometown: Quito, Ecuador

Current residence: Los Angeles

What is PHILM working on now?

Two records, one heavy and another one on a more of a jazz feel. No guitars, just piano, bass and drums.

PHILM recently scored a pilot for the “Dudes of Legends County” for Disney Animation; does that influence what PHILM plays at all?

I think so. [Scoring movies/shows] opens your mind.

You opened for Faith No More recently. What is your relationship with that band and are you looking to tour with them in the future?

I would love to tour with FNM. Dave has a relationship with them. We were signed to Patton's label on our first record. It would be awesome to support them world wide.

Are you focused on touring Fire from the Evening Sun or are you now working on new music?

Yes, at this point we are focused on FFES support tour but we are also focused on our new material. We will be writing all the way through August 1, and then we will hit the road to support FFES once again throughout the East coast and then Europe for about 20 concerts.

Talk about your personal experiences. You didn’t grow up in the United States. When did you realize you wanted to make music for a living?

It was in Venezuela at a place called StudioPlay, a rehearsal facility in an inner city neighborhood of Caracas.  I remember after the rehearsal , I was leaving the room with my bass on my back and then I got the awesome feeling that I wanted to keep forever. I haven't stop playing since then. I was 15 years old.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Family Man's bass lines on all of Bob Marley’s tunes were a major influence on my playing. [Jazz bassist] Jaco Pastorius, of course. Nowadays I love to dig into of old R&B and Afro  beat.

Quick Hits:

Career path as a bassist: [I’ve been a] funk-bass player for the past 15 years. I played with War, Tower of Power, Eric Burdon, Orgone, Rhythm Roots All Stars, and even Cheech And Chong.

Craziest thing a fan has ever done for him: A fan made a painting of myself and then travelled from Poland to London  just to give it to me.

Favorite place in the world to play in: Australia

Career highlights: All our achievements and tours. We have seen the world together a couple times over and have made people smile with our music.