SLAYER has just announced another North American leg of its final world tour. Maintaining the band's ethos of "play as many places as possible to make it easier for everyone to see the band one last time," leg five will kick off May 2, 2019 at the Ak-Chin Amphitheatre in Phoenix, Arizona and see the band performing 16 shows across the Southern states and then up the east coast, culminating at the Xfinity Center Amphitheatre in Mansfield, Massachusetts on May 25. LAMB OF GOD, AMON AMARTH and CANNIBAL CORPSE will support Slayer on all dates. Special SLAYER VIP packages will be available for all dates. A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Wednesday, December 12 at 10:00 a.m. local time and end on Thursday, December 13 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code "REIGN" to access tickets before the general public. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, December 14 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Tour dates: May 02 - Ak-Chin Amphitheatre, Phoenix, AZ May 03 - Isleta Amphitheatre, Albuquerque, NM May 05 - UTEP/Don Haskins Center, El Paso, TX May 07 - Bert Ogden Arena, Edinburg, TX May 08 - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, Dallas, TX May 10 - MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL May 11 - Coral Sky Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, Florida May 13 - Big Sandy Superstore Arena, Huntington, WV May 14 - Merriweasther Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD May 16 - Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center, Noblesville, IN May 17 - Providence Medical Center Amphitheatre, Bonner Springs, KS May 19 - DTE Energy Music Center, Clarkston, MI May 20 - Covel Centre, Youngstown, OH May 22 - Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON CANADA May 24 - BB&T Pavilion, Camden, NJ May 25 - Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA This past January, SLAYER announced that it would do one last concert tour around the globe to thank their fans for all of their support over the years, for making the last three and a half decades so packed with good times and unforgettable experiences, and then move on. SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya talked about his possible retirement in a 2016 interview with Loudwire. He said: "At 35 years, it's time to collect my pension. [Laughs] This is a career move." He continued: "I'm grateful that we've been around for 35 years; that's a really long time. So, yeah, to me, it is. Because when we started off, everything was great, because you're young and invincible. And then there came a time where I became a family man, and I had a tough time flying back and forth. And now, at this stage, at the level we're at now, I can do that; I can fly home when I want to, on days off, and spend some time with my family, which is something I wasn't able to do when [my kids] were growing up. Now they're both older and mature. So now I take advantage of that." Araya added: "Yeah, it just gets harder and harder to come back out on the road. 35 years is a long time." Tom also revealed another reason for his diminished enjoyment of the touring life. He said: "There's things that have gone on in my life that have made me change how I play as a bass player. I had neck surgery, so I can't headbang anymore. And that was a big part of what I enjoyed doing what I do — singing and headbanging. I liked knowing that I was one of the fucking badass headbangers. That played a big part. Now I just groove with the music, which is cool, because I'm grooving with the music and the feel of the songs, so that's changed a little for me." SLAYER has been touring in support of its latest album, "Repentless", which was released in September 2015 via Nuclear Blast. That effort marked the band's first release since the death of SLAYER's co-founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman. Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, in January 2011 from a spider bite in his backyard. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points. Hanneman eventually died in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven". Original SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo was effectively fired from the band after sitting out the group's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other members of SLAYER. He has since been replaced by Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the band.
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