On November 30, SLAYER performed in its hometown of Los Angeles which marked band’s last concert on their final tour.
Guitarist Gary Holt took to Instagram issuing a statement to address the end of the band and discuss future plans.
“Now that the final show has come and gone, I just want to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported me stepping into this monster called SLAYER,” he wrote. “Last night was a whirlwind of emotions for all four of us. I want to thank Tom Araya, Paul Bostaph and KFK, Kerry F*cking King. I will miss so much more than just sharing a stage with you guys.
“I’ll miss the jokes, the penalty shots for our onstage f*ck-ups, the philosophical discussions, the fart jokes, the millions of laughs, the songs, the bus ride movies, and more shots,” Holt continued. “MASSIVE love to all three of you. All at RSE, Rick Sales, Kristen Mulderig, Ernie H. Gonzalez, and Andrew Stuart. Always made me feel like part of the family. Our stellar crew, especially @sai_lhung_, one of my best friends on this earth. RESPECT!
“RIP Aarmand. Mike Latronico, Pat Dickinson, John Araya, John Goss, Norm Costa, Tim Quimby, Lost, Off To The Moon Studio, Anders Aho, Bonvillain, Tim Quimby, Erin O’rourke, Jager bear Paul Dinapoli, Bryan Caldwell, Ashley Groom, Kevin Lehman, Rory, Paul and Keith our pyromaniacs, Josh, @brianlights, Rich Interlande, Jake Fraczek, Jason Lowe for keeping an eye on us.
“And Kevin Young for joining me in this last run, love you brother, and Robb Philpotts, and Willie Gee who also worked in my guitars for me. All did an outstanding job! Sandra Araya and Ayesha King and Amy, much love to all of you. And anyone I forgot to mention, thanks! I thank Dave Lombardo, we had some great times together, day drinking and hunting for a good kebab! Brother to me always!
He added: “And to the SLAYER fans, thanks for making me feel welcome, it’s been a special and magnificent metal journey. Three epidurals, seven cortisone injections, trigger point injections, all to keep me in raging mode. Worth every second of the pain. Forever honored to have been a part of this band.
“But I never wanted this. Jeff [Hanneman] should have been there. I just held down the fort for him. And Lisa Holt, your support meant everything to me. Love you after forever. And all my boys in EXODUS, you are my family, and this wayward son is coming home! New EXODUS is a world destroyer. See you in Europe in February!”
SLAYER‘s longtime manager Rick Sales spoke about the band’s decision to embark on its farewell tour in a new interview with MassLive.com.
“The band has always had a lot of integrity,” he said, adding that “there are a couple things that go on. I totally get that they made a decision to stop touring. That doesn’t mean the end of the band. It’s just the end of touring. I always thought of it as, ‘You go out on top.’ They made that decision. They’re not milking it. From that standpoint, I get it and they made the right choice.”
Kristen Mulderig, who works with SLAYER‘s management company, Rick Sales Entertainment Group, says there will still be more stuff from the band in the future.
“We’re in legacy mode. which is a lot to do, even though they won’t be making records or on the road. They still have their endorsers, there’s still merch and branding to do — sync licenses and who knows? Maybe coming up with some sort of event that is SLAYER-based. This is all stuff we’re thinking about and talking about. SLAYER lives on, absolutely.”
