After being one of the world’s foremost thrash metal bands for close to 40 years, it seems that the end is near for Slayer, with the group teasing a breakup following the announcement of dates for a ‘farewell tour’.
Taking to Facebook earlier today, Slayer surprised fans by the posting of a retrospective video, soundtracked by their 1986 classic ‘Raining Blood’. Accompanied by the simple phrase, “The End is Near…Slayer to tour the world one more time…,” fans have been speculating whether the group are set to breakup, or if they’re just ceasing touring.
Soon after this video was posted, the group announced that an upcoming North American tour is set to see them supported by some of the biggest bands in the metal genre today, including Lamb Of God, Anthrax, Behemoth, and Testament. Needless to say, this is a metal lover’s dream.
Since their formation in 1981, Slayer have gone on to record a total of twelve albums, with their last album, Repentless, being released in 2015. However, the last few years have not been exactly kind to the band, with founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman passing away in 2013, and drummer Dave Lombardo leaving the group once again that same year.
Slayer’s last visit to Australia was back in 2013 for the Soundwave Festival, which has made a recent Tweet by festival founder AJ Maddah that much more exciting. “Just heard about an amazingly ridiculous metal package coming to Aus mid this year,” he wrote on Saturday. “Headliner has not been for 5 years. No, not Metallica.” This definitely seems to indicate that we could be seeing Slayer hit up our shores one final time sometime this year.
Just heard about an amazingly ridiculous metal package coming to Aus mid this year. Headliner has not been for 5 years. No, not Metallica. 👊
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) January 19, 2018
At this stage, Slayer have made no further statements as to if and when they will finally break up officially, but fans are undoubtedly waiting eagerly for final tour dates to be announced.
Check out Slayer’s classic ‘Raining Blood’:
