A huge American rock band have announced their first gigs in the UK for the first time in six years.
Slayer confirmed they will take to the stage for two headline gigs in July as well as joining the line-up of Black Sabbath’s final ever concert.
They will take to the stage at Cardiff’s Blackweir Fields on July 3 and London’s Finsbury Park on July 6 for the shows.
The upcoming shows will be the bands biggest headline concerts in the UK ever and will be their only dates across Europe this year.
Slayer will also be joined on stage by five special guest acts.
Amon Amarth, Anthrax, Mastodon, Hatebreed and Neckbreakker will be among the supporting line-up for the shows.
A huge American rock band have announced their first gigs in the UK for the first time in six years
Slayer confirmed they will take to the stage for two headline gigs in July as well as joining the line-up of Black Sabbath’s final ever concert; pictured Ozzy Osbourne in 2022
Tickets will go on general sale at 10am on Friday March 7 and it will mark the first time Slayer has performed in the UK since 2019.
Slayer was formed in 1981 by bassist and vocalist Tom Araya, guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, and drummer Dave Lombardo.
The current line-up comprises of Araya, King, drummer Paul Bostaph and guitarist Gary Holt, who initially joined as a touring musician in 2011 before joining the band permanently after Hanneman’s death in 2013.
Slayer founder and guitarist Jeff died of liver failure just two years after contracting a rare skin disease.
The thrash pioneer, who set up the heavy metal outfit in 1981, passed away in a California hospital.
He had been off the road since early 2011, when he contracted necrotizing fasciitis a quickly progressing disease that eats away at the flesh from deep layers of skin and tissue.
It is most likely the then 49-year-old suffered the shocking condition due to being bitten by a spider.
In a message to their fans on Facebook, the band said: ‘Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11am this morning near his Southern California home.
‘Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure.
They will take to the stage at Cardiff’s Blackweir Fields on July 3rd and London’s Finsbury Park on July 6th for the shows
The upcoming shows will be the bands biggest headline concerts in the UK ever and will be their only dates across Europe this year
‘He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.’
He fell seriously ill in 2011 after he was bitten by a spider, almost losing his arm and was placed in a medically-induced coma.
He subsequently underwent several operations to remove the dead and dying tissue from his arm and pulled out of his group’s 2012 tour dates to continue his treatment.
In 2011 bassist and singer Tom Araya said: ‘Jeff was seriously ill. Jeff ended up contracting a bacteria that ate away his flesh on his arm, so they cut open his arm, from his wrist to his shoulder, and they did a skin graft on him, they cleaned up.
‘It was a flesh-eating virus, so he was really, really bad.’
It was announced in 2012 he had beaten the disease, and it is unclear if the liver failure is connected to the condition.
Throughout the ordeal his bandmates were optimistic he would return to the group, with Araya going as far last year to predict they would “probably get together and start writing together and start making a new album,’ which would have been their first since 2009.
But in February guitarist Kerry King said ‘we don’t know when Jeff’s gonna be able to play guitar. Jeff’s kind of like a wait-and-see thing.’
The guitarist co-founded the thrash metal band with King in 1981, and their breakthrough came five years later with the release of the landmark album Reign in Blood.
They went on to become one of the hallowed ‘Big Four’ thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax, and are estimated to have sold almost 30 million albums.
Jeff was born in Oakland, California and grew up in the Long Beach area of the state.
His family contained several war veterans, his father fighting in Normandy during the Second World War and his brothers in Vietnam.
He became fascinated with wars and military campaigns, and these were themes he brought to the group’s music.
