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Slayer has officially confirmed two massive U.S. headlining dates for late 2026 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their genre-defining masterpiece, Reign in Blood. The thrash legends will perform the 1986 album in its entirety, marking their first appearance in Los Angeles in seven years.

Where can you see Slayer perform Reign in Blood in full?

While Slayer has remained active on the festival circuit throughout 2025 and 2026—including a massive appearance scheduled for Sick New World Texas—these two headlining dates are the only U.S. stops where fans will witness the full Reign in Blood tracklist performed chronologically.

• September 04: Shakopee, MN @ Mystic Lake Amphitheater (Support: Down, Suicidal Tendencies, Hatebreed)
• November 13: Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum (Support: Cannibal Corpse, Cavalera, Crowbar)

The Inglewood show is a monumental homecoming, representing the band’s first performance in the Los Angeles area since their high-profile “final” tour concluded at the same venue in 2019.

We Also Recommend – Every Slayer Album Ranked From Worst To Best: The Final Verdict

How do you get tickets for the Slayer anniversary shows?

Fans looking to beat the inevitable sell-out can access a special presale starting Thursday, April 23, at 10:00 a.m. local time.

General ticket sales will open the following day, Friday, April 24, at 10:00 a.m. local time. Given the scarcity of these headline dates compared to their festival slots at Rocklahoma or Louder Than Life, demand is expected to be extreme.

Get your 2026 Slayer tickets at this location.

Who is in the current Slayer lineup for 2026?

The 2026 anniversary shows feature the same powerhouse unit that has anchored the band’s recent run of “reunion” dates: Tom Araya (bass/vocals), Kerry King (guitar), Gary Holt (guitar), and Paul Bostaph (drums).

Despite the constant fan speculation regarding original drummer Dave Lombardo—who famously called the album “a masterpiece that will stand the test of time”—the Bostaph-led lineup remains the solidified core of the band’s modern era.

Why does Reign in Blood still matter 40 years later?

Released on October 7, 1986, via Def Jam Recordings, Reign in Blood was a cultural firebomb. It was the band’s first collaboration with producer Rick Rubin, who stripped away the reverb to capture Slayer in what Kerry King calls “its pure ferocity.”

The record was famously delayed due to its graphic cover art and the controversial themes of the opening track, “Angel of Death.” The late Jeff Hanneman consistently defended the song as a historical documentary rather than an endorsement.

“It’s a documentary; grow up, people,” Hanneman once said. “There’s no ‘Heil Hitler’ or ‘white people rule,’ it’s a documentary.”

Check This Out – Metallica and Megadeth Got the Fame, but Slayer Got the Future: Why ‘Reign In Blood’ Wins the 1986 War

Loaded Radio Insight: Is the Slayer reunion worth the hype?

Look, we’ve seen plenty of “final” tours turn into revolving-door reunions, but Slayer playing Reign in Blood at the Forum is a bucket-list event for a reason. In an era where thrash is often over-produced, this 28-minute sonic assault remains the gold standard. If you missed their massive UK appearances or the Hersheypark Stadium show, these headlining dates are the only way to catch a full-length, non-festival set from the kings of thrash.

For more updates on the tour and to hear us break down the full 2026 setlist, tune in to the Loaded Radio Daily Podcast or listen to our 24/7 stream at LoadedRadio.com.

The post SLAYER Announces Massive ‘Reign In Blood’ 40th Anniversary Headlining Shows appeared first on Loaded Radio.

Legendary speed metal band Slayer — a proto-underground coven of wizardry like Sodom, Rigor Mortis, Hellhammer, and Bathory — introduced Reign in Blood four decades ago this month.

To get Generation X out of its backoffice closet jobs and hidden housing in the lee of industrial parks, the band has announced that it will play two shows in DINK strongholds that reproduce the album entirely.

“Slayer marks the anniversary with two US headline shows featuring the album performed in full, including their first LA show in seven years.” This is the album that your grandparents banned!

• Friday The 4th of September, Shakopee, MN (Mystic Lake Amphitheater)
• Friday The 13th of November, Los Angeles, CA (The Kia Forum)

Two nights of epic proportions are slated for later this year, as legendary thrash band Slayer gears up to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their massive 1986 classic Reign In Blood. One of the shows is set in Minnesota and the other’s set in California, but regardless of the location, we know one thing — both shows are going to be bonkers.

That’s because not only will Slayer be playing, but they’ve also tapped into their long list of bands they’ve played with in the past and gotten them to participate in the two shows. We’re talkin’ Crowbar, we’re talkin’ Down, we’re talkin’ Cannibal Corpse… the list goes on.

In a post on the band’s social media, Slayer shared a prepared statement about the two dates:

“The fastest, the heaviest, the most uncompromising record in thrash metal history turns 40. SLAYER marks the anniversary with two US headline dates featuring the album performed in full, including their first LA show in seven years.”

Both shows will see Slayer play the entirety of Reign In Blood. Each show will have their own cadre of opening bands. The dates and opening acts will be the following:

• 9/4 Shakopee, MN Mystic Lake Amphitheater (w/ Down, Suicidal Tendencies & Hatebreed)
• 11/13 Los Angeles, CA The Kia Forum (w/ Cannibal Corpse, Cavalera performing Sepultura’s Chaos A.D. & Crowbar)

See what I mean? Those shows like absolutely bonkers. If you’re down to attend either date, you’re gonna need to get tickets right now. And if you’re so inclined, you can grab a couple Slayer records on vinyl through the official MetalSucks store.

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The post Slayer Unveil Two ‘Reign In Blood’ Anniversary Shows with Down, Cannibal Corpse, and More appeared first on MetalSucks.

Rachel Gagliardi used to be a member of the bands Slutever and Upset, and she started Pouty back in 2013 as a duo with Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner, releasing one song a day. Pouty evolved into Gagliardi’s solo project, and she released the extremely cool debut album Forgot About Me in 2024. Today, she’s back…

The post Pouty – “My Own Beauty” appeared first on Stereogum.

The hosts, nominees and top five for Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year have been announced for thecentenary edition of the 2026 APRA Music Awards, to be held on Wednesday, April 29 at Sydney’sHordern Pavilion. This year’s Song of the Year top five features three previous winners from across the musical spectrum.2025 winners Amyl and […]

Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.

-Frank Zappa (?)

In the wake of seeing Sunn O))) live in Washington, DC on Friday, April 10, I’ve been grappling once again with the words above, brushing up against the inadequacy of language in certain contexts. It’s incredibly humbling, particularly when words are usually easy to find, easy to manipulate. The show was at the Lincoln Theater, a venerable old theater that reminded me fleetingly of Pittsburgh’s dearly departed Syria Mosque; tattered, cozily lived-in, two levels, sepia-toned, and reeking of nostalgia. My destination was Orchestra L, row A. The word “orchestra” itself should communicate plenty about not just the venue, but possibly where Sunn O))) locate themselves in the musical firmament these days. On the horizon, as I enter, is an ominous wall of 100-watt Sunn O))) Model T’s astride Hiwatt cabinets with some Ampex SVT’s thrown in for good measure. I kept walking until the horizon dissolved and I was sitting directly in front of Greg Anderson’s side of this foreboding, eardrum-battering wall of aural domination and doom. The band encouraged “a no phone experience,” which I applaud, but it was hard not to take awestruck photos of their gear. 

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Smoke slowly started billowing forth simultaneously with a tape that spliced together live banter from Venom shows. No songs, just Cronos saying goofy KISS-style rock’n’rollisms. This is important to note, as is the fact that Sunn 0)))’s new self-titled record contains a song called: “Does Anyone Hear Like Venom?” It is a key Sunn 0))) paradox. Despite the black metal/cold Nordic heart at the core of their initial musical partnership and the very serious, solemn way they present themselves in a live setting, there is a sense of humor, joy, and celebration in the art Sunn 0))) produces. The robes emphasize the solemnity while invoking a sense of a ritual, but I suspect they also hide an occasional grin between the duo and perhaps even a wink and a nod reserved for particularly enraptured audience members. After all, Stephen O’ Malley once remarked, “We’re kind of about having too much.” Which is another way of saying they’re celebrating excess. Knowingly. Doing so requires having at least humor about said endeavor. 

Cronos eventually stops telling us we’re “Wild, man. Wild!” and two men appear, largely obscured by smoke and mist. One picks up a 2005 Les Paul Deluxe Goldtop. The other, a gorgeous Travis Bean TB1000A. Their weapons of choice. The conjuring begins. Drop-A tuning. Tone first. Deep, fathomless tone. Staggering sheets of sound start to permeate the century-old space more quickly, severely, and thoroughly than the omnipresent mist. It quickly exerts its palpability and undeniable physical presence. Punishing, oceanic cascades of distorted sound waves attack my skull and chest. It starts to move, to undulate, to pulse. Anderson and O’Malley play expertly off each other, theatrically accentuating a pending down-stroked chord they know’ll have enough power to fracture the sidewalks of U Street. Rumbling, bassy cloud formations pour forth and rain heavily down on devotees seeking purity somehow in this torrential baptism of noise. One thing nonbelievers have trouble understanding is just how adept these two acolytes are at imbuing these titanic sound with dynamism. There is an undeniable ebb and flow in the heinously over-saturated slow burning builds that eventually combust like burning stars. Speaking recently of their current two-man iteration, O’Malley said, “The fundamental ideas of the ensemble, the instrumentation were all there in the distortion.” Living perilously alongside and within the maelstrom. You can hear it breathe. Feel it sigh, groan, gasp and scream. 

The set really started seething when “XXAANN” sprawled out of the speakers and the droning swells became more serrated, settling into mountainous overdriven clouds of ferocious high-gain madness. The guitarists masterfully controlled these searing lightning bolts of distortion, which melted into ancient lakes of saturation that seemed to ooze from the ceiling. Anderson’s guitar emitted savagely low sub-bass frequencies, which were on display during the show’s true crescendo: the roiling, monolithic “Butch’s Guns.” Towering pillars of monstrous Tom G. Warrior tones/riffs erupted from O’Malley like electrical storms before blurring into a glitchy, screeching Merzbow-meets-Bernard Herrmann inspired denouement. I actually thought one of Anderson’s amps was going to explode. The shining, buzzing tubes appeared to levitate, a whole beautiful line of desperately overheated 6550 vacuum tubes…straining. After Butch laid his guns down, there were suffocating waves of droning bass-heavy dissonance and feedback, which somehow extinguished itself before anything burned or tumbled down. A wave of celebratory joy swept through the smoke and noise. The two men put down their guitars and smiled. 

–Dennis J. Seese

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Sunn O))) is available now via Sub Pop.

Anchor 1976 / Think Like A Key 2025 Arrestingly modest offering from a stalwart of English melodic rock – given an anniversary shine destined to bring out the record’s soft colors. As his impeccable pedigree, forged via stints with THE … Continue reading →

The post JOHN WEIDER – John Weider appeared first on DMME.net.

Failure release Location Lost in just a few days. The grunge greats have shared “The Air’s On Fire” and “A Way Down,” and today they’re back with the highly anticipated Hayley Williams collab “The Rising Skyline.” “Failure doesn’t do a lot of collaborations, but my friendship with Hayley, and her long standing support of the…

The post Failure – “The Rising Skyline” (Feat. Hayley Williams) appeared first on Stereogum.

For a while now, we’ve been hearing rumbilngs about a new album from Show Me The Body, the difficult-to-describe New York hardcore-ish band. They’ve done a lot of touring and put out a good amount of music in recent years, but they haven’t released a proper album since Trouble The Water in 2022. Lately, they’ve…

The post Show Me The Body – “Dance In The USA” appeared first on Stereogum.

I really want to write a book about fusion. Not just as a specific musical genre, but as an ethos. Because the music of the six-year span from 1969 to 1975, which I often feel was the best era for music, period, was almost entirely defined by the values of fusion: technological advances and advances in instrumental technique; the blurring of lines between jazz, rock, funk, soul, Latin music, African music, and more; and a kind of spiritual openness that manifested in lyrical and musical concepts. From Miles Davis to all his ex-bandmates’ bands (Mwandishi, the Headhunters, Return To Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report) to Alice Coltrane to Pharoah Sanders to Santana to Earth, Wind & Fire to Eddie Palmieri, Willie Colón and the Fania All-Stars, and many more, it was all one thing. 

The post 1976 – The Year Jazz Fusion Died appeared first on Stereogum.