WATCH: Slayer announce their ‘exit’ after one ‘final world tour’
The thrash torchbearers are ready to call it a day
Last updated 22nd Jan 2018
Thrash metal legends Slayer say they will make their exit after a final world tour.
Making the announcement this afternoon, the band posted a video to their Twitter with the caption ‘The End is Near... #Slayer to tour the world one more time...’
Soundtracked by arguably their defining anthem ‘Raining Blood’, the video intersperses photos of Slayer from over the decades with clips of live shows, tour posters, Slayer merchandise, album covers and more.
The 31-second clip ends with the words ‘Slayer’s final North American tour dates coming…’
Watch it here:
Formed in 1981, Slayer are one of thrash metal’s iconic groups alongside their Big 4 kindred spirits Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax.
Slayer vocalist/bassist Tom Araya first hinted at the band calling it a day in a 2016 interview with Loudwire.
He said: "At 35 years, it's time to collect my pension. This is a career move. 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.
"Yeah, it just gets harder and harder to come back out on the road. 35 years is a long time."
Slayer’s last UK show took place at Download Festival 2017. Let’s hope there are some UK dates included in the swansong tour!