Slayer Officially Reunites and Announces First Two Shows

This is not a drill: Slayer has officially reunited and announced their first shows back, which will take place later this year at Chicago's Riot Fest and Kentucky's Louder Than Life festival.

Slayer played the final show of their purported farewell tour at the Forum in Inglewood, California, on Nov. 30, 2019. Riot Fest is set to take place from Sept. 20 through 22, and it will mark Slayer's return to the stage after nearly five years.

They're also one of four headliners set to perform at Louder Than Life, which will take place from Sept. 26 through 29 at the Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. Slipknot, Motley Crue and Korn are the other three headliners for the event.

See the full lineup below.

These two festival appearances will feature the same Slayer lineup as their farewell tour: singer and bassist Tom Araya, guitarists Kerry King and Gary Holt and drummer Paul Bostaph.

"Nothing compares to the 90 minutes when we're onstage playing live, sharing that intense energy with our fans," Araya said in a statement, "and to be honest, we have missed that." King added: "Have I missed playing live? Absolutely. Slayer means a lot to our fans; they mean a lot to us. It will be five years since we have seen them."

This news arrives shortly after King announced his new solo band and his first album and shared that he hasn't spoken to Araya since Slayer's final show in 2019.

So far, these are the only Slayer performances that have been announced, so it's unclear whether they're going to tour or release new music again. Their last album, Repentless, came out in 2015.

Stay tuned for further details as we find out more information.

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