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Slayer Returns!

June 6, 2006 -- 06.06.06. Was there ever any doubt that this day would summon the metal beasts known as Slayer? There’s even money that if vocalist/bassist Tom Araya had perished during the lengthy hiatus since Slayer’s last studio album, he would have risen from the cold dead earth and joined his bandmates on the Day of the Beast.

Fortunately, Araya & Co. don’t have to beat the Grim Reaper to kick off their summer tour in San Diego on that fateful day -- all they have to do is shake off a little rust. If they need any motivation, they can just look at the front end of their bill, which is loaded with metal luminaries and up-and-comers, starting with Lamb of God and including Mastodon, Children of Bodom and Thine Eyes Bleed. This audience-friendly event -- which targets indoor venues with amenities, as well as a cheaper-than-expected ticket price -- is dubbed The Unholy Alliance Tour: Preaching to the Perverted, and will be thundering across the States during June and July.

If that’s not enough to whet the whistles of metalheads, Slayer -- in full original lineup glory -- will also be playing material from their first new studio record since 1990’s Seasons in the Abyss. Their old pal Rick Rubin serves as executive producer, and metal vet Josh Abraham (Korn, Atreyu, Velvet Revolver) will be manning the boards. The as-yet-untitled record is set to hit shelves and punish eardrums this fall.

The boys are pleased with how the reunion is coming along. “It feels really good being back with the same guys I started out with,” says drummer Dave Lombardo. “The chemistry is definitely there, that’s the exciting part of it, to capture that chemistry again.”

-- The ARTISTdirect Staff
03.15.06