SLAYER Announces 'Reign In Blood' 40th-Anniversary Pop-Up Shop Ahead Of Sold-Out Los Angeles Shows

As legendary thrashers SLAYER prepare to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their landmark 1986 album "Reign In Blood" with back-to-back sold-out performances at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on November 13 and November 14, the band has announced a dedicated anniversary pop-up shop running from November 12 through November 14. Produced in partnership with Global Merchandising Services, the three-day experience will give fans an opportunity to celebrate one of the most influential albums in music history with an exclusive collection of anniversary merchandise and limited-edition collectibles and special offerings available only at the shop.

Located at 6250 Hollywood Boulevard, adjacent to the W Hotel and Amoeba Music, the pop-up will feature the official "Reign In Blood" 40th-anniversary merchandise collection, alongside designs and items available exclusively at the shop. Among the highlights of the weekend overall, the band are releasing a portion of their personal stash of the "Reign In Blood" liquid zoetrope vinyl, bundled with a commemorative triptych and coin created to mark the milestone anniversary. Customers will also receive a QR code offering the chance to enter a giveaway for a signed SLAYER setlist or merchandise pack.

Yesterday SLAYER released a small number of production hold tickets for both Kia Forum shows. A limited number of general admission tickets will also be sold at the pop-up while supplies last.

Further details, including operating hours and the complete merchandise lineup, will be announced soon.

The lineup for all of SLAYER's comeback shows in 2024, 2025 and 2026 is the same as the one which last toured in 2019: guitarist Kerry King and drummer Paul Bostaph, along with bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Gary Holt.

"Reign In Blood" was released on October 7, 1986 through Def Jam Recordings. The album was the band's first collaboration with record producer Rick Rubin, whose input helped the band's sound evolve. Kerrang! magazine described the record as "the heaviest album of all time," and a breakthrough in thrash metal and speed metal.

"Reign In Blood"'s release was delayed because of concerns regarding its graphic artwork and lyrical subject matter. The opening track, "Angel Of Death", which refers to Josef Mengele and describes acts such as human experimentation that Mengele committed at the Auschwitz concentration camp, provoked allegations of Nazism. However, the bandmembers stated numerous times they do not condone Nazism, and are merely interested in the subject.

On the topic the controversy surrounding "Reign In Blood"'s lyrical content, SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman previously said, "'Angel Of Death' was a big problem. I remember getting a phone call after the album was done: Sony wasn't going to release it. I remember being at home, pissed, throwing things. What the fuck? I didn't think anything was wrong with 'Angel Of Death' or anything else we did, it's a documentary! There's no 'Heil Hitler' or 'white people rule,' it's a documentary; grow up, people. It took months before they picked it up again. Finally, we got signed by a distributor."

"Reign In Blood" was SLAYER's first album to enter The Billboard 200 chart (at No. 94). The LP was certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) on November 20, 1992 for sales in excess of 500,000 copies.

In a 2009 interview with Filter magazine, Araya stated about "Reign In Blood", "On that first album [together], Rubin made sure that he recorded. He wanted to duplicate what he was hearing." King added, "It was the first time you actually heard SLAYER in its pure ferocity, and it made a big difference. One funny thing about that album is if it came out today, no one would give a shit. They'd say, 'That's cool.' But at the time it came out it made such a difference. People still reflect on that as a poignant time, where shit changed."

Back in October 2021, SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo told Metal Injection about "Reign In Blood": "I look at that album as a masterpiece. And it's one of those albums that will stand the test of time. It's brilliant. The fire, the energy that that album has. I don't hear that in other records. I don't know if it's because I'm listening to a band that I was part of that I have this perspective that's objective. But you know, it's brilliant and I'm very appreciative … I think that album will forever be like the epitome of thrash music and part of a historic time in music history… SLAYER had a certain energy that's unlike anything else. And so that definitely is for me one of the greatest metal records ever made."