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The Final World Tour (also referred to as The Farewell Tour) was the final
concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...
by American
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
band
Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical styl ...
, which began on May 10, 2018, and ended on November 30, 2019. The tour, consisting of 147 shows worldwide, served as a conclusion of the band's three-and-a-half-decade-long career.


Background

The tour was announced on January 22, 2018, through a video featuring a montage of press clippings, early posters and press photos spanning Slayer's entire career. Although the members of the band have never explained the decision to retire from touring, fans believe one of the reasons behind this was at the expense of vocalist/bassist
Tom Araya Tomás Enrique Araya Díaz (; born June 6, 1961) is a Chilean American musician, best known as the vocalist and bassist of American thrash metal band Slayer. Araya is ranked 58th by ''Hit Parader'' on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalis ...
's desire of no longer wanting to tour and spend more time with his family. The first leg of the North American tour was announced the day after, which took place in May and June 2018 and included support from
Lamb of God Lamb of God ( el, Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnòs toû Theoû; la, Agnus Dei, ) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God wh ...
,
Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The s ...
,
Behemoth Behemoth (; he, בְּהֵמוֹת, ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation; he is paired with the other chaos-monster, Leviathan, and ...
and Testament. The second leg of the North American tour was announced on March 5, 2018; this leg took place in July and August, and featured four out of five bands from the first leg (Slayer, Lamb of God, Anthrax and Testament) and
Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since '' Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitc ...
as the replacement for Behemoth. On February 20, 2018, Slayer announced the first European date of the farewell tour; it was announced that they would headline the Secret Solstice Festival in
Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
,
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
in June. A European leg of the farewell tour took place in November and December 2018, with support provided by Lamb of God, Anthrax and
Obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...
. Guitarist Gary Holt had to miss the last four dates of this tour so that he could take care of his father who was nearing the end of his life; he was filled in by former
Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...
and Vio-lence guitarist Phil Demmel. On June 24, 2018, Slayer was announced as one of the first five bands (alongside
Manowar Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as ...
,
Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: *Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being *The str ...
, Mass Hysteria and
Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (19 ...
) confirmed to play the 2019 edition of Hellfest. This was the band's first show announced for 2019, and was said to be their last show in France. Slayer also played a one-off show in Mexico at ForceFest in October 2018. Slayer continued touring into 2019; in addition to international festival appearances, they performed in areas that the tour had not yet visited, including South America, Australia and Japan; Anthrax was the supporting act on most of the dates. Slayer toured North America in May 2019, with Lamb of God,
Amon Amarth Amon Amarth () is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology an ...
and
Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radi ...
as the opening acts. The final North American leg of the tour took place in November 2019, and included support by Primus, Ministry and Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals. The band's final appearance in Chile on October 6, 2019, at the Santiago Gets Louder festival marked the first time two of the " Big Four" (Slayer and Anthrax) had shared the stage with one of the members of the "Big Teutonic Four" of thrash, Kreator.
Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
– who had not shared the stage with Slayer and Anthrax since the series of "Big Four" shows in 2010-2011 – was initially scheduled to perform at the festival, but cancelled due to
Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has rele ...
's illness and was replaced by Kreator. On how long the farewell tour would last,
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * E ...
vocalist and Holt's bandmate Steve "Zetro" Souza indicated that it would "take a year and a half or two years to do the one final thing, but I believe it's finished. Everybody knows what I know; just because I'm on the outside, I have no insight on that." Kristen Mulderig, who works with Rick Sales Entertainment Group, said that there would still be Slayer-related activities after the tour's conclusion. Despite being referred to as a farewell tour, the band's manager, Rick Sales, said that the tour was not a foreshadowing of their split, but an end of touring. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo did not attend the band's final show. After finishing the set from their final show at The Forum on November 30, 2019, the band and crew members hugged each other and took group photos, followed by Tom Araya bidding farewell to the fans. Guitarist Gary Holt expressed his gratitude towards the band members and then thanked the fans for making him feel welcomed since joining in 2011.


Setlist

#"Repentless" #"Blood Red" #"Disciple" #"Hate Worldwide" #"Mandatory Suicide" #"War Ensemble" #"
Jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with G ...
" #"Postmortem" #"When the Stillness Comes" #"Payback" #"Seasons in the Abyss" #"Black Magic" #"Dittohead" #"Hell Awaits" #"Chemical Warfare" #"Dead Skin Mask" #"South of Heaven" #"
Raining Blood "Raining Blood" is a song by the American thrash metal band Slayer. Written by Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King for the 1986 studio album ''Reign in Blood'', the song's religious concept is about overthrowing Heaven. The song is four minutes and fou ...
" #" Angel of Death"


Tour dates


Personnel

*
Tom Araya Tomás Enrique Araya Díaz (; born June 6, 1961) is a Chilean American musician, best known as the vocalist and bassist of American thrash metal band Slayer. Araya is ranked 58th by ''Hit Parader'' on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalis ...
– vocals, bass *
Kerry King Kerry Ray King (born June 3, 1964) is an American musician, best known for being the co-lead guitarist and songwriter of thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and remained a member for nearly four decades. ...
– guitars * Paul Bostaph – drums * Gary Holt – guitars


Touring musicians

* Phil Demmel – guitars (December 3, 2018 – December 8, 2018)


References

{{Slayer 2018 concert tours 2019 concert tours Slayer concert tours Farewell concert tours