As one of the finest thrash metal careers comes to a close, the manager for Slayer has once again confirmed that the band will never reunite at some point down the line.
Early last year, the music world was shocked to learn that the mighty Slayer would be packing it in after almost 40 years together.
A blow for both the metal community and the music scene as a whole, this news was met with equal parts sadness and skepticism from fans and colleagues.
In fact, Anthrax bassist Frank Bello has gone on record twice to express his doubt, claiming that not only will the band’s breakup not be permanent, but that Slayer would likely get back together again should the chance of another Big Four concert present itself.
Just last month though, fans wondered if Slayer’s manager had revealed a future for the group, stating that their forthcoming breakup “doesn’t mean the end of the band.”
“It’s just the end of touring,” he explained. “I always thought of it as, ‘you go out on top’.”
Of course, this could have been interpreted many ways. Does it mean the group will continue to release music? Does it mean the band will exist on paper to keep selling merch? Or does it mean they’re taking the Ozzy Osbourne approach, where “end of touring” means that one-off gigs might still occur?
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With Slayer set to kick off their final show this weekend, manager Rick Sales has confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the band won’t be pulling a Mötley Crüe and reuniting years after their split.
“I’m not sensing that at all,” Sales explained. “Let’s put the touring to bed.
“I’ve got a couple of ideas [for future projects], but we haven’t made any decisions. Right now, they’re preoccupied with the end, and I imagine it’s emotional. It’s emotional for me.”
“They’ve been doing this for so long. They just said, ‘OK, this is enough,’” Sales added elsewhere in the interview. “My analogy is Jerry Seinfeld, who had probably the biggest TV show when he went out on top.
“I respect the band for the decision. If you’re going to do it, this is the way.”
While these ‘future projects’ are unknown at the current time, fans have undoubtedly expressed disappointment that Slayer’s breakup didn’t result in one final studio album.
Will we see more music released in the future? Only time will tell, but at this stage, it looks as though the Slayer book is finally set to close this weekend.
Check out ‘Raining Blood’ by Slayer:
