Jonathan Dette (born April 19, 1970) is an American musician best known for his time in

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

and

Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller no ...

. Over the years, he has also been chosen to fill-in with

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

, Heathen,

Iced Earth Iced Earth is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band currently composed of only Jon Schaffer, formed in Tampa, Florida, and based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist, ma ...

, and

Volbeat Volbeat are a Danish Rock music, rock band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll and Heavy metal music, heavy metal. Their current line-up consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Michael Poulsen, drummer Jon Lars ...

. Dette also played with

Evildead Evildead is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1986. The band was originally composed of members of two former bands, Agent Steel and Abattoir, including guitarist Juan Garcia, who is their only remaining original member. Du ...

and

Impellitteri Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, singer Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide. History Chris Impellitteri for ...

for several years.

Early life

Dette was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on April 19, 1970. He started playing drums at age 14. In 1984, his parents got divorced. He asked both of them for a drum set, which led to him receiving two drum kits for his birthday, which he converted into a double bass kit. The same birthday, his younger brother got him a copy of

's ''

Fistful of Metal ''Fistful of Metal'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in January 1984 by Megaforce Records (US only) and Music for Nations internationally. The album includes a cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen". T ...

'', which led him to discovering bands similar to Anthrax, such as

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

and

Career

Joining Testament and Slayer

In the summer of 1994, Dette received the opportunity to audition for

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band

, following the departure of

John Tempesta John Tempesta (born September 26, 1964) is an American drummer known for his work in hard rock and heavy metal. He has been a member of British band the Cult since 2006. He is the brother of guitarist Mike Tempesta, with whom he has also worked ...

, who had left to join White Zombie. With the band, he performed the touring lineup for ''

Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...

'', going from September 1994 to 1995, during which the live album '' Live at the Fillmore'' was recorded. In 1996, Dette auditioned for

, following Paul Bostaph's departure from the band, a goal he had set since he was 17, and eventually got the opportunity to join the band. The initial offer had gone to

Gene Hoglan Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...

who had just finished touring with

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, as he was a long time friend of the band, however, due to Dette's persistence and energy, they gave the gig to him. With the band, he performed consistently until 1997, when he was fired from the band due to a fallout with the members at the time, which led to Bostaph returning to the band. Following his departure from Slayer, he returned to Testament for the time being until he departed again. In 2000, he joined Testament once more, as a fill-in. In 2004, he joined the band HavocHate for the year.

Later career

Anthrax-Rock im Park 2014 by 2eight DSC7930

In 2011, Dette received the call to fill-in for Heathen, a thrash metal band from California. Dette filled-in for Darren Minter, who was unable to make the tour with

Destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

and Warbeast. In 2012, he released an album with the band Animetal USA with the album titled, '' Animetal USA W''. Dette was then hired to play for

while

Charlie Benante Charles Lee Benante (born November 27, 1962) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax and crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death. Known as one of the pioneers of Bass drum, d ...

was forced to remain in the United States due to personal issues. He performed with the band on a European fall tour supporting

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

. Due to Benate's inability to leave the states, Dette was again asked to fill in for him on an Australian tour. While on the Australia tour with Anthrax, Dette received a call from

Kerry King Kerry Ray King (born June 3, 1964) is an American musician, best known for being the co-lead guitarist and songwriter of thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and is one of two members to stay with the band ...

, inquiring if he could once again fill-in for Slayer, this time replacing

Dave Lombardo David Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a Cuban-American drummer, best known as a co-founding member of the thrash metal band Slayer. He currently plays drums with Fantômas, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle, Empire State Bastard, and Misfits. Lo ...

, outright. Once the time with Slayer was up again, Heathen hired Dette to fill in once more for them for another European tour. Later that year,

hired Dette to play with them, covering for Raphael Saini, who had previously filled in during a tour with

. The same year, Dette also formed Meshiaak with a friend named Danny Camilleri. Dette toured with Iced Earth until 2015 when Brent Smedley returned to the position. Dette was once again asked to fill in for Benante on an Anthrax tour the same year. Around this time, he was officially announced to have joined

. With Impellitteri, he recorded ''

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

'' and '' The Nature of the Beast'', before departing the band in 2018. In 2022, Dette was hired to fill-in for Jon Larsen of

after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Personal life

Dette said he is not a religious person, but a spiritual one.

Bands

Current * Former *Apocalypse (1991–1992) *Animetal USA (2011–2012) *

(1993–1994) *

(2012–2018) *Meshiaak (2013–2017) *Pushed (2000–2003) *

(1996–1997, 2013) *Terror *

(1994–1995, 1997, 2000) Live *

(2012–2018) * Heathen (2011, 2013) *

(2013) *

(2022)

Discography

AniMetal USA *'' Animetal USA W'' (2012) Testament *'' Live at the Fillmore'' (1995) *''Live at Dynamo Open Air 1997'' (2019) Evildead *''Terror'' (1994) Slayer *'' Soundtrack to the Apocalypse'' (2003) Meshiaak *''Alliance of Thieves'' (2016) Impellitteri *''

'' (2015) *''Venom in Osaka'' (2015) *'' The Nature of the Beast'' (2018) Heathen *''Control By Chaos (Live At The Dynamo)'' (2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dette, Jon Living people 1970 births American male drummers American heavy metal drummers Anthrax (American band) members Iced Earth members Impellitteri members Slayer members Testament (band) members Drummers from San Diego