The unfortunate news is that apparently guitarist Jeff Hanneman is still not healthy enough to rejoin Slayer on the road. And to add onto that grief, Exodus’ Gary Holt, who has been filling in since the band started their Australian tour, won’t be available to help out Slayer past their upcoming European tour. Fortunately, though, Slayer has already found another guest guitarist to help them out: Cannibal Corpse’s Pat O’Brien.
O’Brien’s first gig with Slayer will be in Zagreb, Crotia on April 6. Currently he is only scheduled to perform with the band until April 14 in Eindhoven, Holland, though it is unclear as to whether O’Brien’s services will be utilized any further after that. While O’Brien performing with Slayer will be an exciting sight for metal fans to see, as it was with Holt’s appearance, it’s also a bit of a bummer knowing that Hanneman’s condition is still not well enough for him to return to the stage. We’ll still hoping for a speedy recovery for the Slayer guitarist.
You can check out all of the dates featuring guest guitarists (both with Holt and O’Brien) below. We’ll keep you posted when more develops. One interesting question that we didn’t think of earlier this week when the Slayer summer tour was announced: Is Exodus opening as a thank you for Holt filling in for Hanneman, or will Holt be doing double duty and playing with Slayer?
Slayer’s remaining dates with Gary Holt:
3/30: Pavilhao Atlantico, Lisbon, Spain
4/1: St. Jordi Club, Barcelona, Spain
4/3: Rome Atlantico, Rome, Italy
4/4: Gran Teatro, Padova, Italy
Slayer’s performances with Pat O’Brien:
4/6: Zagreb Arena, Zagreb, Crotia
4/7: Gasometer, Vienna, Austria
4/8: Arena Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
4/10: Prague O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
4/11: Lodz Sportshall, Lodz, Poland
4/13: Volkshaus, Zurich, Switzgerland
4/14: Klokgebouw, Eindhoven, Holland
