Slayer cancels North American tour

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Bad news, heshers. What was poised to be one of the best shows of the summer, Megadeth and Slayer for a ludicrously small ticket price, is no more.

Slayer bassist Tom Araya announced yesterday his decision to undergo back surgery to treat the chronic pain that has resulted from his years of constant head banging. Head below the jump for details.



From the press release:

This difficult decision made by the band's bassist/vocalist Tom Araya means the cancellation of Slayer's immediate tour plans that include the American and Canadian Carnage Tour dates that were set to kick off on January 18, as well as the band's UK/European headline tour scheduled for March and April.  Booking agents for both Slayer and Megadeth are already hard at work rescheduling the tour dates; tickets already purchased for these shows will be honored at the rescheduled dates.

It's a wonder this hasn't happened sooner, and to more rockers. We can distinctly recall a mid 90s health scare about the dangers of moshing and headbanging (in which it was alledged that a single bang of the head killed some ludicrous amount of brain cell).

Metal hysteria aside, Araya has been suffering from performance related back pain for years, and has exhausted all manner of non medical remedies.

The upside? Slayer and Megadeth are already working to reschedule the dates. So don't throw those tickets out quite yet. They'll get you in the door whenever the show goes on. Keep your eyes on Gimme Noise--when we know the new date, we'll pass it along.