SLAYER Guitarist's Wife Defends Return To Live Stage After 'Farewell' Shows: 'This Isn't A 'Tour'; It's Some Dates'

Lisa Holt, the wife of SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt, has defended the band's decision to reunite this fall for a couple of headlining festival gigs, five years after SLAYER wrapped up its "farewell" tour.

Earlier today (Wednesday, February 21),it was announced that Holt, bassist/singer Tom Araya, guitarist Kerry King and drummer Paul Bostaph will perform at Chicago's Riot Fest on September 22 and Louisville's Louder Than Life on September 27, in what are being billed as the band's first gigs since November 2019.

A short time after the news of SLAYER's comeback hit the wire, Lisa took to her Facebook page to write in a public post: "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' 'its 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!!!" she added. "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!!!!!"

In a statement confirming SLAYER's return, Araya said: "Nothing compares to the 90 minutes when we're on stage playing live, sharing that intense energy with our fans, 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."

Just a couple of weeks ago, Kerry, who will release his debut solo album in May, told Rolling Stone that he didn't foresee SLAYER coming back together for the foreseeable future.

"Will SLAYER tour again? I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. Could SLAYER play a show again? I'm sure there's a scenario," King said, adding that he hasn't spoken to Araya since that final show. "Am I looking for it? No, I'm just getting ready to start my [solo] career. So if that happens, it happens. But I'm going to be doing this 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.