After a multi-leg farewell tour in 2018 and 2019, the thrash metal legends were officially putting a close to their multi-decade career…or so everyone thought. Now after five years and a global pandemic, Slayer has done away with their retired status and comeback for a few headlining festival appearances in the U.S. While this announcement was somewhat of a surprise for Slayer fans, it’s also not the slightest bit unusual for a hard rock or metal band to pull a move a like this. Sure, a majority of fans have welcomed Slayer’s return with open arms, but there’s a number of fans who have ‘mixed’ feelings about the reunion.
Despite Slayer being one of the most admonished and influential metal bands, there’s a certain lack of authenticity that comes with a band after they’ve embarked on a ‘farewell’ tour and have ambitiously promoted their ‘final’ performances only to then do a 180 and reunite years later ‘for the fans.’ Love it, hate it, or don’t care about Slayer’s reunion, it’s hard to at least not empathize with the fans who dismiss this and other likeminded ‘reunions’ as only a big financial opportunity for the band and the brand.
However, Slayer founder and guitarist Kerry King has insisted these upcoming shows are nothing more than a few one off “celebration” performances. King even went as far as stating “it’s not going to translate into recording, and it’s not going to translate into touring. For me, it’s three shows marking five years since our final shows, a fun, ‘Hey, remember us from before the pandemic?’ celebration.” Regardless of King insisting there will be no more tours or new Slayer music, there shouldn’t be any surprise if Slayer choose to do otherwise given the band’s track record with these types of statements and claims.
While Slayer is only the most recent metal act to come out of retirement, they’re certainly not the only band to do so, in fact it’s par for the course for most hard rock and metal bands of the same era. A plethora of Slayer’s metal and hard-rock peers have used the ‘farewell tour flag’ only to then reunite years later and embark on a world tour. Over the last decade bands such as Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N’ Roses, KISS, and even Pantera to an extent (though Pantera’s disbanding was abrupt) have participated in some form of this ‘reunion’ strategy.
On the surface it might not seem like these reunion tours or one off performances are doing any harm, as a majority of fans simply want to witness an awesome rock show. However, arguably these types of moves sacrifice the band’s authenticity and potentially diminish the band’s artistic value and legacy altogether, especially if the band’s post-farewell reunion material is overwhelmingly lackluster.
It remains to be seen whether or not Slayer’s ambitious return will be a resounding success for their legacy, the fans and the festival promoters alike. However, the idea of another legacy metal band headlining a festival feels like another step back for the heavy music scene, particularly when it comes to giving new and younger talent a shot at headlining.
