Lustmord, the pioneer of modern ambient electronic music, and Dave Lombardo, one of heavy music’s most influential percussionists, have joined forces as Lustmord Lombardo.
The pair release their debut album, “The Pulse of Atoms”, on October 2nd, 2026, via Ipecac Recordings, offering a taste of their new collaboration with today’s release of “Paleomagnetic Resonance”. Watch the official video below.
“One thing about an album like this is that you can’t really point it out as being part of any specific genre or hopefully any specific period”, Lustmord explains. “Is it from last year? Is it from 10 years ago, is it from 20 years ago, is it from 5 years in the future? It’s trying to create something that has its own sound, not tapping into whatever musical language or history you’re familiar with. It goes way, way further back. This is the sound of planets dying or of stars being born. It’s about a bigger picture. It’s the sound of the birth of the universe and the death of the universe; it’s not rock and roll”.
The two musicians met backstage at a Fantômas show, introduced by mutual friend Buzz Osborne, around the time that Lustmord and Melvins released their collaborative album. Nearly two decades later, Lombardo and Lustmord convened as Lustmord Lombardo, crafting an album that is as cold and distant as it is frantic and engaging. “The Pulse of Atoms” showcases an unheard side of Lombardo and brings Lustmord back to his industrial roots.
Rather than composing songs in a traditional sense, Lustmord built evolving walls and vortices of sound, leaving room for Lombardo to add percussion and various synthesizer layers. Once the editing and arrangement was complete, Lustmord mixed and mastered the record, which was a balancing act between the two players’ large, loud musical presences.
“I’m very proud of this collaboration because it’s so different from anything else that I’ve done”, Lombardo adds. “And to create this body of work with Lustmord – this guy is legendary! He rattles the plaster off of venues”.
Album pre-orders, including a pair of limited-edition vinyl variants (Clear and Smoke), CD, and digital pre-saves, are available here.
Tracklist:
1. An Eternal Presence Part I: Unknown
2. An Eternal Presence Part II: Relentless
3. Paleomagnetic Resonance
4. Beyond the Vast Cold Waste
5. The Desolate Shore Part I: Submergence
6. The Desolate Shore Part II: Emergence
7. The Abyssal Deep
Lustmord is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of dark ambient and industrial music. Active since the early ‘80s, his work draws on field recordings, low-frequency drones, and cinematic sound design to create immersive, atmospheric pieces. Lustmord’s catalog spans dozens of solo releases and collaborations, and his influence extends into film and game scoring, as well as experimental electronic production.
Dave Lombardo is a GRAMMY Award-winning drummer whose playing style helped define the sound of thrash and extreme metal. He is also one of the most versatile percussionists in heavy music, known as a founding member of Slayer, as well as his work with Fantômas, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle, the Misfits, and a wide range of collaborations. In 2023, Lombardo released his debut solo album, “Rites of Percussion”, which NPR praised as “a very different side of one of metal’s most punishing drummers”.
