It's Official: SLAYER Reunites, Announces First Shows In Five Years

SLAYER has officially reunited and will return to the live stage in September.

For the first time since the band wrapped the last concert of its world tour back in November 2019, SLAYER — Tom Araya (bass, vocals),Kerry King (guitar),Gary Holt (guitar) and Paul Bostaph (drums) — will return to the stage this fall, headlining two major festivals, Riot Fest and Louder Than Life.

"Nothing compares to the 90 minutes when we're on stage playing live, sharing that intense energy with our fans," Araya said, "and to be honest, we have missed that." King added: "Have I missed playing live? Absolutely. SLAYER means a lot to our fans; they mean a lot to us. It will be five years since we have seen them."

So far the following dates have been announced:

Sep. 22 - Riot Fest - Chicago, IL
Sep. 27 - Louder Than Life - Louisville, KY

"We're thrilled to announce that SLAYER will be reuniting for an earth-shattering performance at Louder Than Life," says Danny Wimmer of Danny Wimmer Presents. "I was at their last show at The Forum in 2019 and have been working since then to bring them back to the Louder stage! With over 140 bands on five stages, we're celebrating our 10th Louder Than Life with the biggest lineup yet!"

Earlier this month, Kerry said that he had not been in contact with Tom since SLAYER played its final show more than four years ago.

The 59-year-old guitarist discussed his band's decision to call it quits while speaking to Rolling Stone about his new solo project.

Asked how he found out SLAYER's bassist/vocalist wanted to retire, Kerry said: "We were on tour and some kid was interviewing him, and he said something about, 'I've got to get together with Kerry and talk before we talk about the next record.' He should have just said, 'I'm probably not going to do another record,' or had that conversation with me before he mentioned anything like that. I was just assuming, 'Oh fuck, what's this going to be?' And it was, 'I'm done.' Not what I expected. But if you made that decision, I'm not going to try to talk you out of it because your heart's not going to be in it anyway."

Regarding why Araya had decided to retire, King said: "I think just the wear and tear of the road. I think he wanted to be home. None of us are real spotlight seekers, but he's certainly not. And when [late SLAYER guitarist] Jeff [Hanneman] was around, he was like a hermit. He did not want fame. I tolerate fame. Somebody's got to be that guy."

Kerry also confirmed that personality differences contributed to SLAYER's eventual split.

"Me and Tom have never been on the same page," he said. "Like if I want a chocolate shake, he wants a vanilla shake. 'Kerry, what color is the sky?' Blue. 'Tom, what color is the sky?' White. We're just different people. The further on in years we got, it just became more.

"Am I going to hang out with Tom? He likes tequila a little bit and I'm a big tequila-head, so I'll have my shot with him, and we'll part ways. We're not going to hang out or anything because we are very different people. And together, we made great music and a great live show."

Asked if he has talked to Tom at all since the last SLAYER show," Kerry said: "Not even a text. Not even an e-mail. I've talked to everybody else from the band on the phone, text, or e-mail. If Tom hit me up, I'd probably respond. It probably depends on what he hit me up for, but I don't wish him dead at this moment."

Pressed about whether he and Tom could make another SLAYER album, Kerry said: "I can pretty much a hundred percent say no because I have a new outlet, and it's not SLAYER, but it sounds like SLAYER. I'm making the music I like to make still, so I don't need to do that. Records don't sell anymore anyway. It's just a means to have a product out so people know what I'm playing when I come to town."

As for the possibility of SLAYER touring again, Kerry said: "I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. Could SLAYER play a show again? I'm sure there's a scenario. Am I looking for it? No, I'm just getting ready to start my career. So if that happens, it happens. But I'm going to be doing this [solo band] for the next 10 years at least."

SLAYER played the final show of its farewell tour in November 2019 at the Forum in Los Angeles. One day later, Kerry's wife Ayesha said that there is "not a chance in hell" that the thrash metal icons will reunite for more live appearances.

SLAYER's final world tour began on May 10, 2018 with the band's intention to play as many places as possible, to make it easy for the fans to see one last SLAYER show and say goodbye. By the time the 18-month trek wrapped at the Forum, the band had completed seven tour legs plus a series of one-off major summer festivals, performing more than 140 shows in 30 countries and 40 U.S. states.

Araya talked about his possible retirement in a 2016 interview with Loudwire. He said: "At 35 years, it's time to collect my pension. [Laughs] This is a career move." He continued: "I'm grateful that we've been around for 35 years; that's a really long time. So, yeah, to me, it is. Because when we started off, everything was great, because you're young and invincible. And then there came a time where I became a family man, and I had a tough time flying back and forth. And now, at this stage, at the level we're at now, I can do that; I can fly home when I want to, on days off, and spend some time with my family, which is something I wasn't able to do when [my kids] were growing up. Now they're both older and mature. So now I take advantage of that." Araya added: "Yeah, it just gets harder and harder to come back out on the road. 35 years is a long time."

Tom also revealed another reason for his diminished enjoyment of the touring life. He said: "There's things that have gone on in my life that have made me change how I play as a bass player. I had neck surgery, so I can't headbang anymore. And that was a big part of what I enjoyed doing what I do — singing and headbanging. I liked knowing that I was one of the fucking badass headbangers. That played a big part. Now I just groove with the music, which is cool, because I'm grooving with the music and the feel of the songs, so that's changed a little for me."