You guys remember yesterday when the Internet was torn asunder with the thinly veiled announcement that Slayer would be heading out on their final tour right? I spoke about it HERE if you didn’t see what I added to the mix. Well, not 24 hours later we have the official press release, and the dates where they will be crushing our skulls for one final go round. You can check this out below the poster that we also shared yesterday.

The Press Release:
After making some of the most brutal, breathtakingly aggressive, all-hell’s-a-breaking-loose music ever created, playing nearly 3000 concerts in all corners of the world, receiving countless awards, gracing hundreds of magazine covers, experiencing the devastating loss of a founding brother, and even appearing on “The Tonight Show,” the age of Slayer, one of the greatest thrash/ metal/punk bands of this or any age, is coming to an end.

Slayer will 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 will then move on. Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth and Testament will support Slayer on the first leg, North America, of its final world tour.

Tickets go on sale to the public this Friday, January 26 at 10AM local time. Very limited Slayer onstage + meet & greet + exclusive merchandise packages will be available. Log on to www.slayer.net (linked below) for this and all ticket purchasing info.

The Tour Dates:
5/10: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, CA
5/11: FivePoint Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
5/13: Papa Murphy’s Park at Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA
5/16: PNE Forum, Vancouver, BC
5/17: South Okanagan Events Centre, Penticton, BC
5/19: Big Four, Calgary, AB
5/20: Shaw Centre, Edmonton, AB
5/22: Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, MB
5/24: The Armory, Minneapolis, MN
5/25: Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL
5/27: Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre @ Freedom Hill, Detroit, MI
5/29: Budweiser Stage, Toronto, ON
5/30: Place Bell, Montreal, PQ
6/1: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
6/2: PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
6/4: Santander Arena, Reading, PA
6/6: Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
6/7: Blossom Music Center, Cleveland, OH
6/9: KeyBank Pavilion, Pittsburgh, PA
6/10: Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA
6/12: VUHL Amphitheater, Virginia Beach, VA
6/14: PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC
6/15: Orlando Amphitheater, Orlando, FL
6/17: Smart Financial Centre, Houston, TX
6/19: The Bomb Factory, Dallas, TX
6/20: Austin 360 Amphitheater, Austin, TX

*** end of transmission ***

PiercingMetal Thoughts: So there you have it. Slayer shall close their thunderous chapter in the Book of Heavy Metal history after this go-round and become the first of the Big Four bands to say “thank you goodnight” for the final time. While there were many fans who felt that Slayer just wasn’t Slayer anymore once Hanneman had passed away and Lombardo moved on to other musical adventures there were still scores of fans who rallied behind their crushing riffs and helped to make sure shows were sold out night after night after night. For the final shows they’ve cleared assembled an incendiary level of supporting acts and I cannot say enough to the fans that are planning on attending that they get there as early as possible to support them too because once Slayer goes away they are the bands that you will have to keep the blood pumping. I know that there are a lot of fans that will not accept this news or deal with it all that well but let’s be honest here, Slayer deserves worlds of thanks for the Metal that they have given us and it has been a job well done for many a year. I’m going to do my best to be a part of their regional show and brave the chaos once more by being in the mix. There is nothing quite like a Slayer show when it comes to live Metal and this tour will be as if the heavens and the earth will be torn apart with little hope of repair. As you can see there are NO NYC Dates, which sucks since this could have easily been done at The Theater at MSG or even a two night stint at Hammerstein Ballroom. Hell, even a closed off upper section of MSG would have been nice but oh well what can you do. So now with the press details and dates announces, what do you think about this one? Will you be there to witness history once more? Chime in down in the comments below.

Official Websites:
Slayer: http://www.slayer.net
Lamb Of God: http://www.lamb-of-god.com
Anthrax: http://www.anthrax.com
Behemoth: http://behemoth.pl/
Testament: http://testamentlegions.com/