SLAYER FINAL WORLD TOUR | TOUR DATES
On Saturday, November 2, 2019, Slayer - Tom Araya/bass and vocals, Kerry King/guitars, Gary Holt/guitars, and Paul Bostaph/ drums - will set off on The Final Campaign, the seventh and final leg of its farewell world tour. This last hurrah will start at the ExploreAsheville Arena in Asheville, NC, and see the band taking its goodbye bow at the Los Angeles Forum on Saturday, November 30. Accompanying Slayer for this last ride are Primus, Ministry and Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals performing a vulgar display of Pantera, who will support on all dates. Tickets go on sale this Friday, July 12 at 10AM local; limited VIP packages will be available. Log on to www.slayer.net for all ticketing and package details.
Slayer’s Final World Tour began on May 10, 2018 with the band’s intention to play as many places as possible, to make it easy for the fans to see one last Slayer show and say goodbye. By the time the 18-month trek wraps on November 30, the band will have completed seven tour legs plus a series of one-off major summer festivals, performing more than 140 shows in 30-countries and 40 U.S. states.
Slayer’s Final World Tour has been a wild ride. Three bus drivers, four truck drivers, and a crew of 32 have traveled all over the world to set the stage for this farewell. At most shows, Slayer’s pyro expert set off 160 pounds of propane and 10 liters of 99% isopropyl alcohol, prompting the Phoenix New Times reviewer to comment on the “eyebrow-singeing pyrotechnics that could be felt even 10 rows behind the pit.” In Toronto, one diehard fan was ejected from the concert before Slayer took the stage, so jumped into Lake Ontario (that surrounds the Budweiser Arena) and swam back to the venue. The Tampa Bay Times’Jay Cridlin wrote, “ Beginning with the throttling opener ‘Repentless,' Slayer tore through their set like a flaming cigarette boat across the river Styx, charring up a vicious circle pit by the stage,” and Detroit's
Gary Graff noted in his Oakland Press review the “10,000 headbangers who skipped the ‘Game of Thrones’ finale to pay homage to the pioneering quartet.” “The sheer physicality of their show was something to behold and was yet another indi- cation that while the band may be calling it a career, they are going out on top, playing at their absolute best,” wrote Andy Lindquist for the SF Sonic, and Guy D’Astolfo with the Youngtown Vindicator ended his review with this: “After the final note, Tom Araya stood alone, scanning the crowd…forging a mental imprint of the moment. After a minute or two, he went to the microphone and said, ‘I’m going to miss you guys.’ Then he exited and the lights went up.”
Confirmed dates for the final leg of Slayer’s Final World Tour, The Final Campaign are as follows:
NOVEMBER
2 ExploreAshevilleArena, Asheville, NC
3 PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC
5 Salem Civic Center, Salem, VA
6 Giant Center, Hershey, PA
8 Mass Mutual Center, Springfield, MA
9 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
11 KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY
12 Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
14 TaxSlayer Arena, Moline, IL
15 Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, SD
17 Fargodome, Fargo, ND
18 CHI Health Center, Omaha, NE
20 Broadmore World Arena, Colorado Springs, CO
22 First Interstate Arena at MetraPark Billings, MT
24 Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA
26 Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
27 Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV
30 The Forum, Los Angeles, CA
Photo credit: Troy Fisher
ABOUT SLAYER - www.slayer.net:
In January 2018, thrash titans SLAYER devastated metalheads across the globe announcing they were calling it a day, along with a mammoth final world tour. After 37 years, 12 studio releases, five Grammy nominations and two wins, an abundance of Gold albums and "Best..." awards from media outlets all over the world, including Kerrang!, SPIN, Metal Hammer, Revolver, Loudwire and Esquire, Slayer's place in music history is secure as one of The Big Four (alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax): they helped define the thrash-metal genre. Even among peers of that quality, Slayer still proudly stands alone and remains one of the most influential bands in heavy metal history. With Tom Araya’s unmistakable vocals, Paul Bostaph’s hostile drums, Kerry King and Gary Holt's slaughtering guitar riffs, and nasty as fuck lyrics, Slayer continues to whip its fans into anarchistic, antichrist-fueled frenzies unmatched by any other act on the planet. Not many bands can add being banned from the Hollywood Palladium and Madison Square Garden for twenty-five years to their resume.
Throughout Slayer's history, the band has never faltered in unleashing its extreme and focused sonic assault, and has remained crushing and brutal, steadfastly refusing to cater to the mainstream. Slayer's founding member, guitarist Jeff Hanneman passed in 2013, and Exodus guitarist Gary Holt has been filling in for him since. Paul Bostaph, who was Slayer's drummer from '94 - '01, rejoined bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Kerry King in 2013, and is back behind the kit to the very last show.
In January 2018, Slayer announced they were calling it a day and would be doing one final world tour to thank its fans for their support over the years. Launched on May 10, 2018, by the time the 18-month tour wraps on November 30, 2019, Slayer will have said goodbye to fans in 30 countries around the world and in 40 U.S. states. All Hail Slayer.
L-R: Les Claypool, Tim Alexander, Larry Lalonde Photo Courtesy of Primus
ABOUT PRIMUS - http://www.primusville.com:
Taking inspiration from a wide range of influences is part of what made Primus one of the most distinctive, innovative bands to come out of the 1990s. The trio’s alt/punk/avant-garde/psychedelic/country attack, along with Les Claypool's surreal, fever-dream lyrics, resulted in some of rock’s unlikeliest hits, including "Tommy the Cat," "Jerry Was A Race Car Driver," and "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver". Starting as an underground phenomenon in San Francisco, the band’s cult grew rapidly with now classic albums such as Sailing the Seas of Cheese(1991), Pork Soda(1993), and Tales from the Punch Bowl(1995) all reaching gold status. Over the course of multiple decades Primus has toured with some of rock's biggest names including U2, Jane's Addiction, Public Enemy, Rush, and many more. They've headlined the third Lollapalooza and maintained being a global music festival staple with notable appearances including Woodstock, Bonnaroo, Big Day Out, and Hellfest to name a few.
The latest studio album,The Desaturating Seven, released in late 2017 on ATO Records, marks the return of the definitive Primus line-up: Claypool, guitarist Larry “Ler” LaLonde, and drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander — for its first album of original music since 1995.
L-R: John Bechdel (keys), Derek Abrams (drums), Paul D'Amour (bass), Al Jourgensen, Cesar Soto (guitar),
Sin Quirin (guitar) Photo Credit: Derick Smith
ABOUT MINISTRY - http://ministryband.com:
Born in 1981 in Chicago, Ministry has been the lifetime passion project of founder Al Jourgensen, considered to be the pioneer of industrial music. In its early days, Ministry was identifiable by its heavy synth-pop material in line with the new sounds and technology that were being developed in the ‘80s. Ministry’s output began with four 12” singles on Wax Trax! Recordsin 1981 before the first LP With Sympathy in 1983 via Arista Records. As time progressed however, so did Ministry, quickly developing a harsher, and more stylized sound that the band soon became infamous for on seminal albums Twitch(1986), The Land of Rape and Honey (1988), and The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste(1989). With the release of Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and The Way to Suck Eggs(1992), Ministry hit an all time high in the mainstream musical realm and received its first Grammy nomination. In total, Ministry has been nominated for a Grammy award six times. After an indefinite hiatus in 2013, Ministry’s latest album, 2018’sAmeriKKKant, continues to reflect Jourgensen’s views on the frightening state of society and politics. With the latest lineup featuring Sin Quirin and Cesar Soto on guitars, John Bechdel on keys, Derek Abrams on drums and the newly appointed Paul D’Amour on bass, Ministry continues touring in 2019 with new music and a few more surprises planned.
L-R: Stephen Taylor, Mike DeLeon, Derek Engemann, Jose Manuel “Blue” Gonzalez, Philip H. Anselmo
Photo Credit: Joseph P. Dorignac IV
ABOUT PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS - http://philanselmo.com
Philip H. Anselmo hasn’t just paved his own path; he’s bulldozed it. From Pantera, Down, and Superjoint to Scour, En Minor, and so many other projects past, present and future, Anselmo’s well of creativity runs deep. However, Anselmo and his bandmates in The Illegals open up another doorway altogether with their most recent release, 2018’s Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue, available through the vocalist’s own Housecore Records. Extreme, abrasive, aggressive, and anthemic, the record hinges on no holds-barred lyrical misanthropy and insurgent instrumental intricacy as it sharpens any and all edges to guillotine precision.