When Slayer’s farewell tour was announced, it took the metal world by surprise even though the band turned 37 this year. The surprise came mainly due to the fact their shows were just as good as they’d been in recent years – the band seemed to still gel on stage and the music quality was well within their fans’ standards. The mystery deepened after no official reason for this early retirement was given and Tom Araya, Paul Bostaph, Gary Holt and Kerry King aren’t talking to the press about their decision to hang it up after one last tour.

To Headbang or Not to Headbang

With no offense to Shakepseare and his work, this seems to be the key question that might offer some insight for solving the mystery of this sudden retirement. Even though nobody took it very seriously at the time, back in 2016 during an interview for Loudwire, Araya who turned 56 this year, made a joke and said that perhaps it was time to collect his pension. Asked by the interviewer to expand on that, he revealed that after his neck surgery he was incapable of headbanging anymore. Even though it might not seem like a lot for the fans that just love to hear their music, it makes a world of difference for Araya, who considers it a huge part of their show.

The Big Four

As mentioned above, nobody from Slayer gave any other possible reasons for their decision so, except Araya’s neck problems, everything else is left to speculation and assumption. Not big enough to be a reason why they would retire, but not so small that it passes unnoticed, there might be another reason on the line: The Big Four, a phenomenon that started back in 2010 in Warsaw featuring Slayer alongside Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth..

But even though this seems like a perfect mix with the four huge bands coming together to make history and gives fans another reason to love their music, everything wasn’t so cozy and friendly backstage. Through the years, Megadeth and Slayer complained about the fact that the bands in the Big Four weren’t equal and that Metallica always had a bigger influence when it comes to tour dates and other decisions that influenced all the bands. This might seem like a petty reason for a band to retire and there’s no evidence that this is the case, however, not being able to perform when and the way you want, can really affect a metal band.

The Beginning of the End – San Diego

Regardless of whether the reasons behind this farewell tour are known or not, it already had its first show on the 10th of May at the San Diego Valley View Casino Center. With so little time left to enjoy the American thrash titans, nobody is trying to answer the question of ‘ Why is this happening?’ and rather, are attempting to get tickets to see Slayer one last time before they hang up their guitars for good. Compared to their other tours, the tickets for this goodbye-tour aren’t cheap, so for the metalheads that are looking for ways to increase their budget, one option is to play pokies online at 24Pokies Australian online casino.

All reports say that the band are going out in styel. Slayer opened the show with “Repentless,” the track that gives the name of their twelfth and final studio album, followed by other 18 tracks from their repertoire such as “Dead Skin Mask,” “Disciple,” “Season in the Abyss” or “Mandatory Suicide.” The entire concert lasted around 90 minutes and the fans were ecstatic to hear their favorite band one more time. The show concluded with the band playing “Angel of Death,” the signature-track for ending their shows for so many years now, a insanely fast-paced track that explores the surgical experiments done by the Nazis during World War II.

Here are the rest of the North American dates for Slayer’s farewell tour:

MAY

16   PNE forum, Vancouver, BC
17   South Okanagan Events Centre, Penticton, BC
19   Big Four, Calgary, AL
20   Shaw Centre, Edmonton, AB
22   Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, MB
24   The Armory, Minneapolis, MN
25   Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL
27   Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre @ Freedom Hill, Detroit, MI
29   Budweiser Stage, Toronto, ON
30   Place Bell, Montreal, PQ
 
JUNE
 1    Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
 2    PNC Banks Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
 4    Santander Arena, Reading, PA
 6    Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
 7    Blossom Music Center, Cleveland, OH
 9    KeyBank Pavilion, Pittsburgh, PA
10   Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA
12   VUHL Amphitheatre, Virginia Beach, VA
14   PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC
15   Orlando Amphitheatre, Orlando, FL
17   Smart Financial Center, Houston, TX
19   The Bomb Factory, Dallas, TX
20   Austin 360 Amphitheatre, Austin, TX

JULY
26 Bank of New Hampshire, Gilford CT 
27 Impact Festival, Waterfront Pavilion, Bangor, ME
29 Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY  
31 Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA 

AUGUST
01 Times Union Center,  Albany, NY 
03 Darien Lake Amphitheater, Darien NY 
04 Lakeview Amphitheater, Syracuse, NY 
06 Budweiser Gardens, London, ON 
07 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI 
09 Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, St. Louis, MO  
10 Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta, GA 
12 Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN 
13 Walmart AMP, Rogers, AR 
15 Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, TX 
16 The Zoo Amphitheatre, Oklahoma City, OK 
18 Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, Denver, CO 
19 USANA Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City UT
21 Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater, Boise, ID
23 Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, Portland, OR
26 SAP Center, San Jose, CA

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