Five years after their final tour, Slayer has reunited for appearances at both Louder Than Life and Riot Fest. The band is exactly the same as their 2019 lineup, meaning you'll see bassist and vocalist Tom Araya, guitarists Kerry King and Gary Holt, and drummer Paul Bostaph back on stage just as they were.
And for every person that's excited about the Slayer reunion, there's someone that's not too thrilled that they're already back. Gary Holt's wife Lisa Holt has some advice for those folks – don't go see Slayer.
"Yes, it's true..and an exciting adventure for the band and fans !" wrote Holt. "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!!!!!"
An argument can be made either way about Pantera being Pantera with their current lineup, but saying the reunion isn't Slayer is definitely not true. Araya and King are founding members, Bostaph has been there on and off since 1992, and Holt got on board as an official member in 2013 (after touring with Slayer for two years). And much like Pantera, it's the same thing – if you don't wanna go see Slayer, nobody's twisting your arm. There are about 100 other bands at those festivals. Though I do get people being pissed that they were at Slayer's final shows and then they weren't final.
As for the whole "it's just festival dates and not a tour" bit, we'll see. We also heard that about Pantera when they first announced they'd be doing some shows.
