Slayer Reuniting for Riot Fest & Louder Than Life

Slayer is reuniting for the first time in five years and performing at Riot Fest and Louder Than Life.

Slayer's Riot Fest set in Chicago will take place on September 22. Five days later, they'll take to the stage at Louder Than Life in Louisville on September 27.

In a statement, Tom Araya said, "Nothing compares to the 90 minutes when we're on stage playing live, sharing that intense energy with our fans, and to be honest, we have missed that." Kerry 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."

So far, only Slayer has been announced for Riot Fest. However, the full lineup for Louder Than Life has been unveiled, and it's stacked. Joining Slayer on the bill are Slipknot, Motley Crue, Korn, The Offspring, Judas Priest, Dropkick Murphys, Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch, Halestorm, Evanescence and more.

Complete ticket details for both festivals can be found at RiotFest.org and LouderThanLifeFestival.com.

In 2019, Slayer announced their farewell tour, which was dubbed "The Final Campaign." Providing support on the tour was Primus, Ministry, and Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals. The final show on the tour was on November 30 at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles. In attendance that night was actor/noted metalhead Jason Momoa, who also brought his daughter and son to the show.

Momoa actually took to the stage with Anselmo & The Illegals for a rendition of Pantera's "This Love." He shared a bunch of photos from the evening via Instagram. His caption read, in part, "I am so thankful for those moments shared with dear friends and my babies. It’s crazy to think of Slayer and Anthrax and Metallica as Ohana, but they are."

Metallica released Master of Puppets on March 3, 1986, and years later, it remains one of metal's most iconic masterpieces.

In honor of its anniversary, we take a look back on that album, as well as other '80s metal albums we think everyone should own.

The list in the gallery below also doubles as a convenient “metal starter kit” (if you will) for the youths dipping their toe into metal for the first time, because frankly, someone has to think about the children.