Slayer’s bassist and vocalist, Tom Araya, has been forced  to undergo back surgery and cancel the remaining dates for the American and Canadian Carnage Tour.  “Tom gave various medical treatments more than a fair shot,” said Slayer’s manager Rick Sales, “but they just haven’t handled the problem, so he’s biting the bullet and is scheduled for back surgery at the end of this month.”

Set to kick off in North Americas on Janurary 18th, with UK/European headline dates scheduled for March and April, both Slayer and Megathe are working to reschedule their tour dates and the tickets purchased for the shows will be honored at their rescheduled dates. 

“Araya, known for aggressively swinging his long mane of hair while performing, began experiencing back problems while on the band’s Australian/New Zealand/Japanese tour last October. In spite of his rapidly increasing pain and discomfort, he carried on with the tour, but immediately upon returning home saw an orthopedic specialist who diagnosed a Cervical Radiculopathy. The rocker initially did not want to take the major surgery route, so the specialist recommended a series of minimally-invasive procedures. While those procedures have resulted in some improvement, Araya continues to deal with intermittent bouts of severe pain, numbness and muscle spasms. The surgical procedure that Araya will undergo, called an Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion, is a relatively routine practice and the recovery rate is excellent.”

Sales added, “As unfortunate as this is for so many people – the Megadeth and Testament camps, the concerts’ promoters, and, of course, the fans – Tom’s health is the number one priority, and this has to happen.”