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, and The Pulse Of Atoms is their debut album on Ipecac Recordings.

"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."

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. Dave Lombardo is a Grammy Award-winning drummer whose playing style helped define the sound of thrash and extreme metal, known as a founding member of Slayer, as well as his work with Fantômas, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle and the Misfits.