Slayer has postponed its “Canadian Carnage” tour with Megadeth, due to kick off on November 8, after the group’s 48-year-old vocalist Tom Araya required emergency back surgery in Texas on Tuesday.
On its MySpace blog, the heavy metal band also announced they would have to reschedule its Wednesday appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
“What is foremost in our minds right now is that Tom do whatever he needs to to get this taken care of,” said Slayer’s Kerry King. “While all four of us are disappointed that we won’t be able to see through all of our commitments set for the next few weeks, the most important thing is Tom’s health. We thank the fans in Canada and here in L.A., the Megadeth camp, and everyone associated with ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ for their understanding. We look forward to seeing you all soon.”
Araya’s back injury is believed to be related to his onstage performance.
King, Jeff Hanneman and Dave Lombardo will still make an in-store appearance on Wednesday at a Los Angeles Hot Topic store to sign copies of Slayer’s new album, World Painted Blood.
No makeup dates have been announced for the postponed tour but Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine said, “Canadian Carnage is going to be rescheduled and you can probably count on that being somewhere around the new year."