Yesterday, we reported on a recent interview in which Slayer basically said Rick Rubin hasn't returned their phone calls. It caused quite an uproar online, so much so, that the band's longtime manager Rick Sayles has just released a new statement clarifying the current situation. Here is his statement in full:
“With Jeff’s tragic passing and Slayer’s eventual hectic touring schedule over the past several months, there has been a bit of mutual ‘holding off ‘ on jumping into any new long term recording commitment, but we would like to clarify the comments that Tom and Kerry made in the Fuse interview. It is true that Slayer is currently out of contract, as they delivered their final required album to American Recordings some time ago. Rick Rubin began a new distribution agreement with Universal last year and American/Universal absolutely has made a significant proposal to re-sign the band. Both parties had been in substantial negotiation over that proposal at the time of Jeff’s passing; and in fairness to everyone, a little space has been given on all sides in terms of closing any new deal. We are excited about the possibility of re-signing with Rick Rubin’s venture, and are also considering several other options that have been presented since the previous long term contract with American expired. The band has been taking much needed time to regroup and consider their various options for the future, and looks forward to a new beginning, wherever that may be.”
So it seems as though there had been a bit of miscommunication between Slayer, their management and Rick Rubin. It seems like the band might sign with American after all, and that would make sense, seeing as though the biggest albums in their catalog are owned by American. However, Slayer are also at a point where they can just go their own route and simply self-release their music (with the backing of a major distributor of course) thus keeping a bigger piece of the pie.
It will certainly be interesting to follow this story and see how it develops.
