In what may go down as one of the wildest mix-ups in rock history, Tim Ā«HerbĀ» Alexander, Primusā notoriously on-again, off-again drummer, has left the band ā not, as he claimed, due to Ā«loss of passionĀ» or even Ā«physical health and family issues.Ā» No, the truth is far stranger: Alexander spent nearly four decades drumming for Primus, believing the entire time that he was in the epic pagan metal band, Primordial. Yes, folks, you read that right. After a case of mistaken identity at an audition back in 1987, Alexander somehow landed in the funk-metal world of Primus, all the while thinking he was blasting beats for a group of Irish metalheads. š¤¦āāļø
The story goes like this: in the late ’80s, Alexander auditioned to join Primordial, but on his way to what he thought would be a career in the Celtic-infused metal scene, he got a bitā¦ lost. After a fateful mix-up of signs backstage ā exacerbated, apparently, by poor eyesight ā he walked right onto the set of Primus, who, delighted by his drumming, welcomed him with open arms. Primordial, meanwhile, shrugged him off as just another flake and forgot all about him. And so Alexander, blissfully unaware, spent the next 40 years laying down funky grooves with Primus, assuming his thunderous tribal rhythms were contributing to a different kind of headbanger crowd entirely. š
As for why it took him this long to realize his mistake? Well, perhaps it was the constant turnover ā this marks the third time Alexander has officially Ā«leftĀ» Primus, only to rejoin later. But this time, things were different. Last week, after nearly four decades, the drummer finally recognized the band’s music wasnāt quite what heād expected from a pagan metal group. Itās been an epiphany of almost biblical proportions: as of today, Alexander has signed with Primordial, now finally able to live his headbanging dreams. š¤
The real kicker? Primordial had actually been struggling with their current drummer for years, and now Alexander will step in to bring his long-belated rhythm to their ranks. Simon O’Laoghaire may be out of a job, but at least Tim can finally play with the group heās always thought he was in ā a twist that not even rockās weirdest storybooks couldāve written. š„
