Anthrax’s Scott Ian has hit out at Kerry King over the upcoming Slayer reunion, thanking him for “making me look like a liar”.
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In February, the metal icons announced they were reuniting for a series of three shows in the autumn, their first shows since their retirement and farewell tour in 2019.
The news came as a major surprise to many, not least the Anthrax frontman, who was asked about the announcement in a new interview with Classic Rock.
“I wrote to Kerry and said, ‘Thanks for making me look like a liar’,” Ian said. “We were on Slayer’s goodbye tour for over a hundred shows. During that year and a half together I got the sense that if they said were ending, then that’s what was happening.”
“Personally I felt it was too soon – the world needs Slayer – but I took them at their word on that. I really felt that they would be the one band that when they said they were retiring, they’d be done for good.”
Ian went on to say that King wrote back to him to say it was just for three shows. “Yeah, we’ll see,” Ian responded to him.
Slayer will be headlining three festivals in September and October: Louder Than Life in Louisville, Riot Fest in Chicago and Aftershock in Sacramento.
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Their line-up will be the same as it was when the band ended, featuring co-founders King and Tom Araya, guitarist Gary Holt (also of Exodus) and drummer Paul Bostaph.
“Nothing compares to the 90 minutes when we’re on stage playing live, sharing that intense energy with our fans,” Araya said in a statement [via Revolver]. “And to be honest, we have missed that.”
King added: “Have I missed playing live? Absolutely. Slayer means a lot to our fans; they mean a lot to us. It will be five years since we have seen them.”
Prior to that, a Slayer reunion had been looking rather unlikely, especially since Kerry King had announced a solo album, ‘From Hell I Rise’, just weeks earlier. He had described his new endeavour as “an extension of Slayer”.
King had also told Rolling Stone that he said he could “pretty much say a hundred per cent no” to the chances of it happening. He also mentioned that he had not spoken to Araya since Slayer’s final show, whereas he had been in contact with the band’s other members.
Anthrax, meanwhile, will be going on a UK and Europe co-headline tour with Kreator in November and December. See the full list of dates here and get your tickets here.