SLAYER - A chat with Tom Araya Page 2
by Tim Henderson

The other bands on the package - LAMB OF GOD, MASTODON, CHILDREN OF BODOM, THINE EYES BLEED - are each given their fair share of the spotlight, even when it came down to the packaging. It's great to see Slayer in touch with the newer wave of metal.

Araya: "Everybody benefits. We know what it's like to be treated like crap. We've been in situations where we've been treated like shit. You learn through these experiences and you tell yourself we're not going to be that kind of band. And we've struck to the premise that everybody gets a fair shake. Nobody is going to get any fair breaks. Everybody is allowed to use the equipment, or whatever. You have everything at your disposal. We know what that's like. So, when we have these bands on, we wanted to pick bands that we thought would be great. Our manager (Rick Sales) says, 'this is a list of bands that are out there - this is a list of bands that promoters think should be on the bill.' So you dig through the bands and you realize it works. So the promoter thought that all those bands could sell tickets, but they're also good bands. On that go-around, we were able to pick from a really good crop of bands. It was just a really good package. All the bands were great, everybody played great. The whole tour was really successful as far as that went. Everybody was a part of the show. It wasn't like one main person and just four other bands."

Arguably, the Unholy Alliance Tour featured some of the hottest live bands on the planet. But given that fact, it's difficult for any band to beat Slayer on the live stage by closing the show.

Araya: "That's true, but on this go-around with Manson, he wanted to close the show. Which is fine with us because we don't have issues. He's the one that has to prove himself, he's got to sell himself. On this tour that we did, he'd been out for a while. He hadn't really done anything in several years. He's thinking, 'well, I want to headline, I'm still on top.' And we're like, 'you can think whatever you want, but are you sure you want to close the show?' 'Yeah'. But we couldn't care less, because now he really had to bust his balls."

In hindsight, did the tour work?

Araya: "I think it worked well with us. It might have worked well for him, because it allowed him to polish up his show (laughs). The first few weeks were pretty rough on him. I guess towards the end of the tour, he'd polished up his show enough, he was able to keep the audience entertained (laughs!)."

SLAYER - A chat with Tom Araya Page 3