Bad news for fans of thrash metal titans Slayer: the band's singer/bassist Tom Araya has to undergo back surgery, so all their tour dates through April of this year have been cancelled. This includes the much-ballyhooed American and Canadian dates with fellow thrash lifers Megadeth and Testament, as well as a European tour.
Araya has been trying various medical treatments to fix his back, according to a press release, but nothing has worked, so he has to go in for surgery at the end of January. He started having back troubles last October while touring Australia, New Zealand and Japan. He continued touring, then when he got home saw a specialist, who diagnosed him with cervical radiculopathy.
Araya is having, according to the press release, "intermittent bouts of severe pain, numbness and muscle spasms." The press release goes on to say the surgery is relatively routine with an excellent recovery rate.
The tour, supporting Slayer's late 2009 release, World Painted Blood, was originally scheduled to kick off in November, but was also postponed then due to Araya's back. People who already bought tickets for this latest run of shows are being encouraged to hold on to them for now, as the bands are working hard trying to reschedule them for later in the year.
We wish Araya a speedy recovery.
Tour dates:
1/18 Seattle, WA - WaMu Theatre
1/19 Portland, OR - Memorial Coliseum
1/21 San Francisco, CA - Cow Palace
1/22 Long Beach, CA - Long Beach Arena
1/23 Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
1/25 Denver, CO - Magness Arena
1/26 Albuquerque, NM - Tingley Coliseum
1/27 El Paso, TX - El Paso Coliseum
1/29 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless
1/31 Nashville, TN - Municipal Auditorium
2/1 Duluth, GA - Gwinnett Arena
2/2 Louisville, KY - Broadbent Arena
2/4 Minneapolis, MN - Roy Wilkins Auditorium
2/5 Chicago, IL - UIC Pavilion
2/6 Detroit, MI - Cobo Arena
2/9 Wallingford, CT - Chevrolet Theatre
2/11 East Rutherford, NJ- Izod Center
2/13 Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Center
2/14 Lowell, MA - Tsongas Arena
2/16 Quebec City, QC - Pavillon de la Jeunesse
2/18 London, ON - John Labatt Centre
2/19 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
2/20 Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
2/22 Moncton, NB - Moncton Coliseum
2/23 Halifax, NS - Metro Centre
Araya has been trying various medical treatments to fix his back, according to a press release, but nothing has worked, so he has to go in for surgery at the end of January. He started having back troubles last October while touring Australia, New Zealand and Japan. He continued touring, then when he got home saw a specialist, who diagnosed him with cervical radiculopathy.
Araya is having, according to the press release, "intermittent bouts of severe pain, numbness and muscle spasms." The press release goes on to say the surgery is relatively routine with an excellent recovery rate.
The tour, supporting Slayer's late 2009 release, World Painted Blood, was originally scheduled to kick off in November, but was also postponed then due to Araya's back. People who already bought tickets for this latest run of shows are being encouraged to hold on to them for now, as the bands are working hard trying to reschedule them for later in the year.
We wish Araya a speedy recovery.
Tour dates:
1/19 Portland, OR - Memorial Coliseum
1/21 San Francisco, CA - Cow Palace
1/22 Long Beach, CA - Long Beach Arena
1/23 Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
1/25 Denver, CO - Magness Arena
1/26 Albuquerque, NM - Tingley Coliseum
1/27 El Paso, TX - El Paso Coliseum
1/29 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless
1/31 Nashville, TN - Municipal Auditorium
2/1 Duluth, GA - Gwinnett Arena
2/2 Louisville, KY - Broadbent Arena
2/4 Minneapolis, MN - Roy Wilkins Auditorium
2/5 Chicago, IL - UIC Pavilion
2/6 Detroit, MI - Cobo Arena
2/9 Wallingford, CT - Chevrolet Theatre
2/11 East Rutherford, NJ- Izod Center
2/13 Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Center
2/14 Lowell, MA - Tsongas Arena
2/16 Quebec City, QC - Pavillon de la Jeunesse
2/18 London, ON - John Labatt Centre
2/19 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
2/20 Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
2/22 Moncton, NB - Moncton Coliseum
2/23 Halifax, NS - Metro Centre
