Slayer vocalist/bassist Tom Araya has been suffering back issues for a while now, and will now undergo surgery. As a result, Slayer is cancelling the American and Canadian Carnage Tour dates with Megadeth and Testament that were set to kick off on January 18, as well as the band's UK/European headline tour scheduled for March and April.
"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."
Booking agents for both Slayer and Megadeth are working to reschedule the tour dates; tickets already purchased for these shows will be honored at the rescheduled dates. Araya 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. Araya 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."
Comments
I hope that everything goes well for the band and Tom.
I also have some back problems, so I know a little of what Tom must be going through. Anyway, whenever I eventually get to see Slayer on this tour it will be well worth the wait, ‘cos the new album is great!