Jon Dette (born April 19, 1970) is an American heavy metal drummer best known for his time in Slayer and Testament. Over the years, he has also been chosen to fill-in with Anthrax, Heathen, and Iced Earth. Dette also played with Evildead and Impellitteri for several years.
Dette was born in San Diego, California 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 Anthrax's Fistful of Metal, which led him to discovering bands similar to Anthrax, such as Metallica and Slayer. By 1990, Dette joined the band Apocalypse, which ended up being short-lived. Dette joined the thrash metal act Evildead in 1993. With the band, he recorded a single demo, titled Terror, until his departure in 1994.
In 1994, Dette received the opportunity to audition for thrash metal band Testament, following the departure of John Tempesta, who had left to join White Zombie. With the band, he performed the touring lineup for Low, going from September 1994 till 1995, recording Live at the Fillmore. In 1996, Dette auditioned for Slayer, 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 who had just finished touring with Death, 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.

Return to Jon Dette Autograph Profile