LOS ANGELES, CA – January 23, 2018 – Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth, and Testament, all bands who have close ties to and have shared the stage multiple times with the band over the years, will accompany Slayer on leg one, North America, of what will be its final world tour. The trek starts May 10 when a 26-date odyssey will have them crisscrossing the country, from San Diego to Toronto, Orlando to Minneapolis. Tickets go on sale to the public this Friday, January 26; log onto www.slayer.net for all purchasing options.
“If you are lucky enough to be invited to play even just once with living legends like Slayer, it’s an incredible honor. Slayer gave Lamb Of God our very first two overseas shows. Slayer has subsequently taken us on several full length tours, both at home and abroad. The guys in Slayer and their crew have also always been very, very cool to our band. It is irrefutable that Slayer helped create the genre of aggressive metal, and all modern bands of that ilk owe them a huge debt – I know we do. To be asked to be a part of their final tour – well, it just makes you stop and realize just how lucky you are. Hail Slayer! We’ll see you on the road…” – Randy Blythe, Lamb Of God
“It’s truly an honor to be on Slayer’s final tour,” said Anthrax’s Frank Bello. “Anthrax and Slayer have toured together for decades, we are family, band and crew, so we want to help give Slayer the best send-off possible and to have one last blast with our friends. But you know, at the end of the day, Slayer will never die.”
“Well, well, well… the dream comes true AGAIN it seems. Behemoth will be teaming up with mighty Slayer again for another extensive American run later this year! Nothing short of epic if you ask me! I cannot wait to confront American legions again before we unleash the new record. One of the biggest metal tours this year: Testament, Behemoth, Anthrax, Lamb Of God and Slayer. Can you miss it out? FUCK NO!” Negral, Behemoth
“Sharing the stage with Slayer once again is going to be an honor, and to be a part of the final tour is going to be a special privilege for us. Slayer has influenced so many aggressive bands in their career. This tour will be an epic time for all who attend. Do yourself a favor and clear your calendars when this show comes to town. This will be your last chance to see a tour like this. Get ready North America for the devastation.” – Chuck Billy, Testament
Dates for Slayer’s final world tour, leg one, North America, are as follows:
MAY
10 Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, CA
11 FivePoint Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
13 Papa Murphy’s Park at Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA
16 PNE Forum, Vancouver, BC
17 South Okanagan Events Centre, Penticton, BC
19 Big Four, Calgary, AB
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 Bank 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 Amphitheater, Virginia Beach, VA
14 PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC
15 Orlando Amphitheater, Orlando, FL
17 Smart Financial Centre, Houston, TX
19 The Bomb Factory, Dallas, TX
20 Austin 360 Amphitheater, Austin, TX
*****
ABOUT SLAYER – www.slayer.net:
For more than three decades, Slayer’s onslaught has proven the band to be the supreme thrash-metal band on the planet, the band that other heavy acts are measured against and aspire to. Their membership in “The Big Four” – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax – the four bands that defined the thrash/metal genre – secures their place in music history.
The two-time Grammy-winners have accumulated an abundance of certified Gold Albums along with “Best…” awards from media outlets all over the world, including Kerrang!, SPIN, Metal Hammer, Revolver, and Esquire. Throughout Slayer’s history, the band has never faltered in unleashing its extreme and focused sonic assault, and, unlike many of its contemporaries who commercialized their sound, Slayer 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 stay.
In September 2015, Slayer released Repentless, the band’s 12th, and what would be their final studio album, the first without Hanneman and first with producer Terry Date, to widespread rave reviews and the highest chart debut of the band’s career. The band also teamed up with director BJ McDonnell for three high-concept and brutal music videos for the album’s title track, then for “You Against You,” and the most recent, “Pride in Prejudice,” racking up a combined 25-million+ YouTube views. In 2017, Dark Horse Comics published the three-issue “Repentless” comic book series based on McDonnell’s original story concept for the videos and written by “Metalocalypse” director Jon Schnepp.
On January 22, 2018, Slayer announced its decision to do one last world tour to thank its fans for their decades-long support, and then move on. All Hail Slayer.
ABOUT LAMB OF GOD – http://www.lamb-of-god.com:
Richmond, VA natives LAMB OF GOD are one of heavy music’s most successful and uncompromising bands. When the band’s first major release, New American Gospel, was released in 2000 it was immediately touted as a classic within the genre. AllMusic stated it best, “The essential signatures of post-Pantera metal are in abundance on Lamb of God’s inaugural album. New American Gospel provides a mighty oak upon which gritty American metal’s faith is maintained, effectively bridging the ’90s’ insistence upon drill-sergeant technicality and the old school’s determined focus on riff construction.”
Some predicted a sophomore slump – that no band could top a debut album so strong. They were proven wrong, with the release of 2004’s Ashes of the Wake, an album that not only exploded stateside (certified Gold by RIAA) but also saw the spread of LAMB OF GODto all corners of the world. The band’s first DVD, Killadelphia, followed shortly after and was certified Platinum. Then, with Sacrament (Album, 2006, #8 debut on the US Billboard Hot 200), LAMB OF GOD were honored with a Grammy nomination for the track “Redneck”, which would be the first of five Grammy nominations for the band to date. Next came Walk With Me In Hell (DVD, 2008) and then the band’s fourth album Wrath in 2009, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 200 Chart, and then Resolution, which debuted at #3. Shortly after the release of Resolution, vocalist Randy Blythe was arrested in Prague, and spent 30 days in jail on a charge for which he was later acquitted (and lead to Blythe’s bestselling memoir, Dark Days, as well as the film As The Palaces Burn). After regrouping,LAMB OF GOD lost no ground with their latest full-length album, VII: Sturm Und Drang, the album was #3 in the US, #1 in Canada, #2 in Australia, #3 in Finland, #7 in UK, #12 in Germany and #13 in Japan, and #13 in Netherlands. “Overlord”, the first single from VII: Sturm Und Drang, achieved a new milestone for the band when it reached the Top Thirty of US Active Rock Radio Chart (Mediabase). In late 2016, LAMB OF GOD paid tribute to late, longtime fan and friend Wayne Ford with the release of The Duke EP, which raised funds and awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The EP release coincided with a charity campaign offering personal items such as Blythe’s Ashes Of The Wake Gold plaque, signed signature model guitars, handwritten lyrics and more.
Since inception and through it all, LAMB OF GOD’s consistent and unwavering commitment to their music – and their fans – has kept them a critical and fan favorite worldwide, selling millions of albums and tickets around the world.
LAMB OF GOD is Randy Blythe (vocals), Mark Morton (guitar), Willie Adler (guitar), John Campbell (bass), and Chris Adler (drums).
ABOUT ANTHRAX – https://anthrax.com:
As part of the band’s 35th anniversary year, Anthrax released one of 2016’s most-anticipated metal/thrash albums, For All Kings (February 26/Megaforce in North America/Nuclear Blast internationally), that debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Chart, and #9 on the Top 200, becoming Anthrax’s highest-charting album in more than two decades. Written by drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello and guitarist Scott Ian, the dynamic triumvirate whose unique composition chemistry is, in part, what sets Anthrax’s music apart from other bands’ in the same genre, combined with Joey Belladonna’s breathtaking vocals and the searing guitar leads by newest member Jonathan Donais, it’s no wonder the album and the band’s live shows have consistently received tremendous reviews.
Over its 35-year career, Anthrax has been a pioneering band with its unique style, sound and heavy brand of thrash metal, and, as Metallica’s Kirk Hammett put it, “one can hear their influence on any number of up and coming bands.” Anthrax has sold in excess of 10-million units, received multiple Gold and Platinum certifications, six Grammy nominations and a host of other accolades from the media, industry and fans. From the race and genre barriers Anthrax helped break down in 1988 when they collaborated with Public Enemy on “Bring The Noise,” to becoming a card-carrying member of The Big Four – with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth – as one of the four bands that defined the speed/thrash metal genre – to being the first metal band to have its music heard on Mars when NASA played “Got The Time” to wake up the Mars Rover, Anthrax continues to break ground and innovate. On December 13, 2016, the Epiphone/Revolver Music Awards presented Anthrax with its first-ever “Innovator Award” to acknowledge the band’s contribution to music. On April 27, Anthrax will release “Kings Among Scotland,” a live DVD shot at the band’s 2/15/16 show at Glasgow’s historic venue Barrowland Ballroom.
ABOUT BEHEMOTH – http://behemoth.pl
Behemoth have been carving out their claim as one of the world’s top extreme / black metal bands since their inception in 1991. That claim was solidified in 2014 with the release of the band’s tenth album, The Satanist. The record marked their triumphant return following front man Adam “Nergal” Darski’s battle with Leukemia. “‘The Satanist’ is magic. It’s dangerous. It’s adventurous, and it’s organic,” states Nergal. While instantly recognizable as the work of the Polish blackened death quartet, it takes their sound in previously unimagined and riveting directions. A writhing, densely layered, brutally violent and sinister record, it is quite unlike anything ever unleashed within the canon of heavy music. As such it demands attention, offering ever greater sonic and emotional depths with every listen. This is evident in the band’s videos for the title track, as well as “Messe Noir” and “Ben Sahar”. Nergal continues, “You may hear the title and think it’s very primitive and one-dimensional, and yes it is, but when you look beyond that it’s as primitive as it is complex and multidimensional, and that applies to everything about the record.” Behemoth’s lineup is rounded out by Inferno (drums), Orion (bass), and Seth (guitar).
The Satanist debuted at #34 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in the United States. In their home country of Poland, the album became their second consecutive #1 debut, along with 2009’s Evangelion. Since the release of The Satanist, Behemoth have published their official biography “Behemoth: Devil’s Conquistadors” as well as Nergal’s own biography, “Confessions of a Heretic: The Sacred and the Profane: Behemoth and Beyond.” The books are available worldwide now.
ABOUT TESTAMENT – http://www.testamentlegions.com/site/
For over three decades, the Bay Area thrash quintet—Chuck Billy [vocals], Eric Peterson [guitar], Alex Skolnick [guitar], Steve DiGiorgio [bass], and Gene Hoglan [drums]—has consistently delivered unadulterated, unbridled, and unbreakable metal in its purest form without compromise or any signs of slowing down. Over the course of seminal releases ranging from The Legacy and Practice What You Preach to The Gathering and The Formation of Damnation, which won “Best Album” at Metal Hammer’s 2008 Golden Gods Awards, the group’s sales exceeded 14 million worldwide with 2 million in the U.S. alone. Most recently, 2012’sDark Roots of Earth and 2016’s Brotherhood of the Snake assaulted the charts, both debuting within Billboard’s Top 20 chart.
Media Contacts:
Slayer
Heidi Ellen Robinson Fitzgerald – herfitz@mac.com
Julie Arkenstone – julieark@me.com
Lamb of God
Maria Ferrero – maria@adrenalinepr.com
Natalie Camillo – natalie@adrenalinepr.com
Anthrax
Heidi Ellen Robinson Fitzgerald – herfitz@mac.com
Selena Fragassi – selena@fr-pr.net
Behemoth
Vince Edwards – vince@metalblade.com
Nikki Law – nikki.law@metalblade.com
Testament
Charles Elliott – Charles@nuclearblastusa.com