In a recent chat with Australia’s Metal Roos, Kerry King hinted at Slayer’s future, but fans might not like it.
“We’re never gonna tour again. We’re never gonna make a record again,” the guitarist revealed. “Mark my word: we’re never gonna make a record again, we’re never gonna tour again. Because that was the last thing. We said [back in 2018], ‘This is our final tour.’ It took five years for us to come and say, ‘Hey, here’s a couple of shows, five-year anniversary.'”
In February 2024, Slayer announced their first show since disbanding would be at Riot Fest on September 22, followed by a second show at Louder Than Life on September 27.
However, Louder Than Life canceled their September 27 shows due to Hurricane Helene. The reunion featured the 2013–2019 lineup: King, Tom Araya, Gary Holt, and Paul Bostaph. They also headlined Aftershock Festival in Sacramento on October 10, 2024.
In an interview with Brian Slagel, Kerry shared his thoughts on the Riot Fest performance, saying, “It’s kind of like when we did the first ‘Big Four’ show, I said, ‘This is gonna be really cool for the fans, and it’ll be good to see the guys.’ And that’s about all I gave it.”
“But then we actually played the show and a handful more shows, and I said, ‘You know what? This is really cool for me.’ And I didn’t expect that. And I didn’t expect that when we did the Chicago show [Slayer at Riot Fest]. I went with the exact same idea. I’m, like, ‘This is gonna be really cool for the fans, especially fans that were too young to see us,'” the rocker explained.
King concluded, “And I hit the stage and I got goosebumps. I’m, like, ‘This is way bigger than I ever gave it credit for.’ … [And] we’ve got a lot of history in Chicago too, so for the reunion show to be there, it was pretty epic. And the response was over the top. It was way overwhelming.”
At Riot Fest and Aftershock, Slayer played a 20-song set, including ‘South of Heaven,’ ‘Seasons in the Abyss,’ ‘Angel of Death,’ ‘Hell Awaits,’ ‘Raining Blood,’ and ‘Repentless.’
