Gary Holt gave an update on the preparations for Slayer’s upcoming festival shows following their breakup announcement in 2019. He said in a recent interview for the ‘Scandalous’ podcast:
“Well, fortunately, I was free on those days. [Laughs] No, it’s gonna be fun. I’ve had to relearn a lot of this stuff. It’s been five years. And I just am approaching it like trying to be ready for whatever song Kerry [King] and Tom [Araya] decide they wanna do, so I have to relearn all of them, even if we’re gonna only play a small amount of the whole catalog that I know; I don’t know the whole catalog. But obviously, I learned the hits, the ones that are gonna be there. Of course, we’re gonna play ‘Angel of Death.’”
First Meeting Between The Members In Five Years
Slayer’s farewell tour started in 2018 and wrapped up the next year with a North American date. The band members hadn’t seen each other since then, but Holt shared:
“But it’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be awesome. I’m looking forward to seeing those guys again, ’cause the pandemic happened and I haven’t seen anybody since then. We talked, but I haven’t been in the same room with a single one of them since I left for the airport after the last show. So, it’ll be a good time.”
There Won’t Be A New Tour Or Record
Slayer announced that they would reunite to play at Aftershock, Riot Fest, and Louder Than Life festivals this fall in early 2024. Kerry King explained the comeback by telling Q104.3:
“We’re never gonna tour again — it ain’t gonna happen. We’re never gonna record again; that’s not gonna happen either. But to do commemorative shows, I think that’s kind of fun. I don’t have to be married to it for a long time. Kids don’t have to worry about it coming around on tour because we said we wouldn’t. There’s not a whole lot of weird diabolical sh*t going on here. I think people have just gotta say, ‘Hey, it’s anniversary celebration shows.’ That’s gonna be the end of it.”
The reunion also came on the tails of King’s debut solo album, ‘From Hell I Rise.’ You can check it out below.
