SLAYER Frontman Talks About Next Album In New Interview

Jenn Selby of The Quietus spoke with SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya last week and asked him about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's next album.

"We've had a few drawbacks, but we are attempting to work on the new material," Araya said. "Kerry [King, guitar] and Dave [Lombardo, drums] have been doing that. And me, because I'm sick, I don't want to fly out and make everybody sick, so my joining in the process is going to be on pause until I get better. But there's something there."

SLAYER is hoping that Greg Fidelman, who co-produced 2009's "World Painted Blood" with Rick Rubin, will be at the helm for the new CD.

"All four of us have agreed that the guy that we want to record our new record will be the same gentleman who recorded our last album," Tom said. "We just had a really great experience with him last time, loved the sound, and, if we can make our timings match up, we would love to record with him again. We'll probably bring him in towards the end of the writing process, which is what we did last time."

Araya also spoke about Hanneman's current state of health. Jeff in January 2011 contracted necrotizing fasciitis, likely caused by a spider bite, and has been undergoing surgeries, skin grafts and intense rehab since. Not only did this effectively put him out of action for the whole year, it came close to killing him. Thankfully, he's making a good recovery.

"Jeff is recording and writing with us on the album," Araya said. "He can still play, and he is rehearsing with us. It's just that he needs to get his chops up before he joins us live again. . . . We have to take it one day at a time. He has the ability to play, but he needs to really work at it. So we have to make sure he's at his best before he comes out and tours with us. But yeah, we want him out and on the road with us."

Photo credit: Mark Seliger