According to Blabbermouth, during a recent interview with Dave Ling of Classic Rock, Anthrax’s Scott Ian was asked if he was shocked when Slayer announced they would be playing a couple reunion shows. Scott jokingly responded with: “I wrote to Kerry and said: ‘Thanks for making me look like a liar.’ 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 because 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.”

When being asked how Kerry King responded to his e-mail, Scott said: “He wrote back saying: ‘Hahaha. Hey, it’s just three shows.’ I replied: ‘Yeah, we’ll see.'” Five years after Slayer completed their farewell tour and just weeks after the Slayer’s guitarist mentioned the details of his solo project, King and his longtime bandmates announced that they would be playing Aftershock, Riot Fest and Louder Than Life festivals in September and October.

King addressed Slayer’s reunion earlier this month while speaking to Metal Hammer, admitting that the announcement of Slayer’s comeback “was not my favorite timing,” Kerry said that the SLAYER reunion “is not going to translate into recording and it’s not going to translate into touring. For me, it’s three shows marking five years since our final shows, a fun, ‘Hey, remember us from before the pandemic?’ celebration.”