Slayer is finally back, but not with a tour.
Last week, Kerry King dropped a few hints pointing out that Slayer would be back. On February 21, the band confirmed the hints.
As it turns out, Slayer is not going on tour, but it’s just going to be only a few shows. Gary Holt’s wife, Lisa Holt, shared the news on her Facebook page. Some fans thought the band was out of many and some thought that the disbandment was a lie. Lisa Holt, addressing those comments, wrote:
“Yes, it’s true… and an exciting adventure for the band and fans! To all the people saying ‘they are liars,’ ‘they must have ran out of money,’ ‘it’s not Slayer without so and so,’ I have an idea for you all… Don’t go. And for all the people who did go to the final tour dates and enjoyed it… awesome!! This isn’t a ‘tour,’ it’s some dates. And great news! And everyone that thinks they know all the inside info… You can’t possibly know. So just enjoy the fact that this amazing band will play some amazing shows this year… Go or don’t… Nobody cares!!!”
The band has currently revealed only two scheduled dates – the Riot Fest in Chicago on September 22 and the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky, five days afterward. The Chicago performance is promoted as the band’s ‘exclusive Midwestern performance,’ suggesting there might be additional dates in the future.
Why Did Slayer Break Up?
Slayer disbanded in November 2019 without citing a specific reason for their breakup. Two months before their break up, Dave Lombardo revealed that Tom Araya wanted to retire since ‘Dave was in the band.’ He said:
“Apparently, from what I hear. Tom has been wanting to retire when I was in the band — he wanted to stop. He had the neck issues. He’s been wanting to retire for a long time now. So now that he’s got it, I’m happy for him, and I hope he gets what he wants out of life and his future.”
Araya hasn’t responded to the claims.
Last year in January, King sat down with Metal Hammer where he revealed he had been missing his days with Slayer and that he felt like his livelihood was taken away from him:
“It was premature. The reason I say ‘premature’ is because my heroes from my childhood are still playing! I can still play, I still want to play, but that livelihood got taken away from me. But, anyway, on to the next chapter, I guess. We were on top of the world, and there’s nothing wrong with going out on top of the world, it’s a good way to go out. So, bravo for that. But do I miss playing? Yeah, absolutely.”
You can see the band’s final show below.
