Slayer final European tour kicks off in Dublin

Slayer will start the final leg of their final tour with a concert at the 3Arena in Dublin on November 1st.

This will gladden the heart of Irish rockers in what has been to date a fallow year for marquee metal gigs.

Normally Slayer play smaller venues such as the Olympia or the Academy, but promoters MCD will hope the prospect of seeing these uncompromising thrashers for the very last time will tempt more than a few old metallers out of retirement.

Slayer have assembled an all-star bill for their European tour with support from their thrash metal contemporaries Testament and also Lamb of God, one of the biggest of the new wave of American heavy metal bands.

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Three years ago, Motley Crue was forced to sign a “cessation of touring agreement” lest they should be tempted to go back out on the road again after their farewell tour.

Slayer sound like they really mean that this tour will be their last.

In an interview three years ago with The Irish Times, guitarist Kerry King signalled very succinctly that he was tired of life on the road. "Touring sucks," he said.

Lead singer and bass player Tom Araya reckons 35 years is long enough as a touring band. Neck surgery means he can longer headbang "and that was a big part of what I enjoyed doing – singing and headbanging".

Another reason for their decision to retire may have been the death of former guitarist Jeff Hanneman in 2013 from cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcoholism.

Though long estranged from the band, Hanneman’s death deeply affected Araya in particular. He was the chief songwriter and their most original musician.

Lots of bands have sought to emulate Slayer’s brutal aural assault. Some can play faster and harder, but lack the musicality which made them so special.

They distilled that brilliance into their 1986 opus Reign in Blood which is just 29 minutes long and is one of the greatest metal records of all time.

Most nonmetal fans would never get Slayer which is why so many metal fans love them.

They personify to the casual observer the devil-worshipping, Satan-obsessed strain of metal, but it is a bit more complicated than that. Araya is a practising Catholic and family man.

He posted a photoshopped photograph of Donald Trump with Slayer after Trump's inauguration. Many did not see the funny side and Araya had a hard time explaining it was just a joke.

He also called American a “nation of cry-babies”. There might be a few tears among Slayer fans when they finally hang up their devils’ horns.

Slayer European tour dates with Lamb of GOD, Anthrax, Obituary

• Nov 01: Dublin, 3Arena
• Nov 03: London, Wembley Arena
• Nov 05: Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena
• Nov 07: Birmingham, BCA
• Nov 09: Manchester, Arena
• Nov 10: Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
• Nov 12: Glasgow, The Hydro SSE
• Nov 14: Dortmund, Westfalenhalle
• Nov 15: Zwolle, The Netherlands, IJsselhallen
• Nov 17: Madrid, Palacio Vistalegre
• Nov 18: Barcelona, Palau Sant Jordi
• Nov 20: Milan, Mediolanum Forum
• Nov 21: Zurich, Halle 622
• Nov 23 - Vienna, Stadthalle
• Nov 24: Freiburg, Germany, SICK-ARENA
• Nov 26: Hamburg, Barclaycard Arena
• Nov 27: Lodz, Atlas Arena
• Nov 29: Munich, Olympiahalle
• Nov 30: Erfurt, Germany, Messehalle
• Dec 02 - Berlin, Mercedes-Benz Arena
• Dec 03: Copenhagen, Royal Arena
• Dec 05: Stockholm, Hovet
• Dec 06: Oslo, Spektrum
• Dec.08: Helsinki, Helsingin Jäähalli
• Slayer play the 3Arena on November 1st. Tickets from €49.50 go on sale next Friday, May 18th, at 10am