Slayer Debuts New Song at Golden Gods Awards

Bay Area thrash legends Slayer made a surprise appearance on Wednesday night at Revolver magazine’s Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles. The group debuted a new song, “Implode,” and also performed their classics “South of Heaven” and “War Ensemble.” The new track is the first new material from Slayer after Jeff Hanneman‘s death a year ago. The band was introduced by Marilyn Manson, then played the two classic tracks before unleashing the new song, laid down in a Los Angeles studio with producer Terry Date, known for his work with Metal Church, Pantera and Soundgarden, among others. After the show, “Implode” showed up on the official Slayer website as a free download.

“Implode” is expected to appear on Slayer’s next album, tentatively due in 2015. The album will be released on the band’s own as-yet-unnamed label with Nuclear Blast handling distribution, ending Slayer’s 28-year relationship with producer Rick Rubin and his American Recordings imprint. Principal songwriter Kerry King paid homage to Rubin for the role he’s played in the band’s career, but also expressed optimism about going independent with Nuclear Blast as a partner. In addition to King and bassist / vocalist the current touring lineup of Slayer includes drummer Paul Bostaph (Forbidden, Exodus, Testament) and guitarist Gary Holt (Exodus). This is Bostaph’s third stint filling in for longtime Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, while Holt has been filling in for Hanneman, who passed away on May 2nd last year at the age of 49.

Slayer are currently preparing to launch a hefty summer tour and play festivals and headlining shows in North America and Europe for the next few months. The trek kicks off with shows on May 9th in Salt Lake City, May 10th in Denver, and the 11th in Billings, Montana. Click Here for a complete rundown of the dates and venues. They plan on being in the studio by the fall to begin working on the first album to be released in the Nuclear Blast partnership.