The Thrash Metal Legend Who Inspired Cypress Hill in High School

One of the biggest names in thrash metal provided encouragement for members of Cypress Hill as the hip hop act was trying to find its footing.

Sen Dog's First Concert Was Seeing Members of Slayer

Cypress Hill founding member Sen Dog was just starting his journey into music when he was a high school student. This was also about the time he saw a surprising band for his first concert, which included members of Slayer.

Future members of the thrash metal band actually played during lunchtime while Sen Dog was a student at South Gate High School in South Gate, California. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo was also a South Gate High School student at the time.

"It was the wildest stuff I had ever seen in my life. And people were loving it," Sen Dog said during a 2009 interview on Australia's "V Music."

Lombardo would become a source of inspiration for Sen Dog and the other members of Cypress Hill. The drummer would often find himself walking past Sen Dog's house while visiting his girlfriend who lived in the neighborhood.

"We would be in front of my mom's house, hitting beats on trash can lids and rhyming," Sen Dog explained, "And (Lombardo) he would come down and tell us, 'Hey, you guys sound good. Keep it up.' This guy's band was already happenin, and, you know, this guy likes our stuff. That inspired us to keep going."

The Endearing Friendship of Dave Lombardo and Sen Dog

Lombardo and Sen Dog have continued their friendship for more than 40 years. Their families had become close even before the two started to hang out together.

"Our moms were friends before we met and we lived a couple blocks from each other," Lombardo said in an Instagram post earlier this year.

After nearly four decades of friendship, the two musicians finally got to share the stage in May of 2025 during a Cypress Hill show in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Sen Dog asked Lombardo to join the group on drums as they played "Rock Superstar."

Lombardo, with a huge smile on his face, seemed to be having a blast behind the kit. Before the song was over, Cypress Hill turned their hit into a mashup with Slayer's "Angel of Death."

Cypress Hill (Featuring Dave Lombardo), 'Rock Superstar'