Last month, Slayer announced that—after 37 years as a metal institution—they were calling it a day after one final world tour. Now, as a celebration of their career, the band has announced a new video series documenting their career. You can watch the first episode above.
The premiere—dedicated to the band's formation and earliest days—contains some amusing anecdotes about how the group came together, and what the members were up to before they began dedicating themselves full-time to Slayer.
"In my teen years, my last job was working a mini-golf course or something," laughs guitarist Kerry King. "I was one of the people that does stupid shit that no one else wants to do. I was there for like a month, and the dude said 'Cut your hair' and I said 'Suck a dick' and that was about the end of it."
Bassist Tom Araya, for his part, was working at an emblem company, while original drummer Dave Lombardo earned his keep delivering pizzas.
As for the formation of the band, King said "I found [guitarist Jeff Hanneman] auditioning for another band at some warehouse. He was playing songs I know on the guitar sitting at a desk. And I was like, 'Hey, are you in a band?' And he wasn't. So I said, 'Would you like to get together and see what happens?' ... We just put it together and it stuck."
You can check out the itinerary for Slayer's farewell tour with Lamb of God, Anthrax, Testament and Behemoth below.
Slayer North American Tour Dates:
- May 10 - Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, CA
- May 11 - FivePoint Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
- May 13 - Papa Murphy's Park at Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA
- May 16 - PNE forum, Vancouver, BC
- May 17 - South Okanagan Events Centre, Penticton, BC
- May 19 - Big Four, Calgary, AL
- May 20 - Shaw Centre, Edmonton, AB
- May 22 - Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, MB
- May 24 - The Armory, Minneapolis, MN
- May 25 - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL
- May 27 - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre @ Freedom Hill, Detroit, MI
- May 29 - Budweiser Stage, Toronto, ON
- May 30 - Place Bell, Montreal, PQ
- Jun. 01 - Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
- Jun. 02 - PNC Banks Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
- Jun. 04 - Santander Arena, Reading, PA
- Jun. 06 - Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
- Jun. 07 - Blossom Music Center, Cleveland, OH
- Jun. 09 - KeyBank Pavilion, Pittsburgh, PA
- Jun. 10 - Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA
- Jun. 12 - VUHL Amphitheatre, Virginia Beach, VA
- Jun. 14 - PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC
- Jun. 15 - Orlando Amphitheatre, Orlando, FL
- Jun. 17 - Smart Financial Center, Houston, TX
- Jun. 19 - The Bomb Factory, Dallas, TX
- Jun. 20 - Austin 360 Amphitheatre, Austin, TX
