Legendary rock band announce shock reunion five years after retirement and guitarist’s feud with frontman
THEY'RE one of the founding fathers of thrash metal and have earned legendary status.
But five years ago fans of Slayer thought they'd never get a chance to see the band live again after they announced their shock retirement.
And the band looked firmly done and dusted just a matter of days ago when founder and guitarist Kerry King unveiled his new solo band and dropped his heavy first single Idle Hands.
But overnight the metal greats announced two festival performances for later in the year at Chicago's Riot Fest on September 22 and Louisville's Louder Than Life on September 27.
In a statement, frontman and bassist Tom 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."
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The announcement has been met with a mixed response with some rejoicing while others slammed them for 'cashing in' on their farewell.
Fellow guitarist Gary Holt's wife Lisa has had her say on the situation, writing on social media: "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' 'it's 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!!!
"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!!!!!"
The announcement is perhaps not completely surprising given that King told Rolling Stone recently that there was scope for one off shows.
He said: "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.
"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."
However, he also said he hadn't spoken to Araya since the retirement show and the only positive words he could muster about him were that he was glad he wasn't dead.
King and Araya founded the double Grammy winning band in 1981 along with the late Jeff Hanneman and former drummer Dave Lombardo.
They are one of the big four of thrash alongside Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth. The groups famously toured together for the first time in 2010.
Slayer have released 12 studio albums and have sold more than 20million records worldwide.
Their best known songs include Raining Blood, Angel of Death and South of Heaven.