In a recent interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio, Kerry King talked about his excitement for Slayer’s upcoming festival shows in September and October.
“Yeah, at the end of the day, it wasn’t bad blood,” King said of Slayer returning five years after their ‘final’ tour. “Tom [Araya] was just done. And when Tom told me he was done, I went, ‘Okay, well, I’m not gonna try to talk you into it,’ because if you’re trying to talk somebody into it, their heart’s not in it. So it was over for me.”
The guitarist added: “And, of course, a month after we were done, offers come in because people think you’re done. So what we retired from was touring. We never said we were done playing. We said, ‘This is our final tour,’ and I don’t think three shows constitute a tour. So if you wanna get technical, I think we’re in the ballpark of being truthful.”
Earlier last month, Kerry told Guitar World that he was ‘very surprised’ when Araya agreed to play three shows this year. He also mentioned that he would be open to more gigs in the future.
“There could be an instance where there’s another one-off,” he said. “It just has to be the right offer at the right time, maybe someplace everybody loves to go. But touring, no, I don’t see touring. But, you know, who’s to say a one-off can’t happen again?”
Slayer played their farewell tour with a final show in November 2019 at the Forum in Los Angeles. The day after, Kerry’s wife Ayesha said there was ‘not a chance in hell’ that the band would reunite for more live shows.
