Slayer has confirmed a one-night-only headline concert set for Saturday, September 20 at the 30,000-seat Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, PA, the band’s only east coast date this year. Doors are at 3PM ET and the show kicks off at 4PM ET. The concert will be hosted by the well-known metal head and long-time Slayer fan, WWE star Damian Priest, and will feature a multi-generational, powerhouse line-up:
Slayer
Knocked Loose
Suicidal Tendencies
Power Trip
Cavalera (performing Chaos A.D. – exclusive)
Exodus (performing Bonded by Blood)
“It’s going to be great for the fans,” Kerry King said. “Not having toured in a number of years, there might be some people at this show who have never seen Slayer before, or in some time. So, for the Hershey concert, we’ll play a Slayer show, we’ll have all of our big fire effects, just burn everything like we used to – a real Slayer show.” Added King, ““This will be the first time Slayer has played with Power Trip or Knocked Loose, but I am well aware of them from word of mouth and hearing their music on Liquid Metal. I’m looking forward to seeing them live.
Added Tom Araya, “My favorite part of what I do is the stage time. Nothing compares to the 90-minutes when we’re on stage playing live, sharing that intense energy with our fans. I love singing, and I love convincing everybody, ‘my god, that guy is a maniac.’”
“I’ve been a Slayer fan ever since I was a kid,” said Priest. “Metal has always had a special place in wrestling, Slayer’s legacy is woven into the fabric of wrestling, and the genre wouldn’t be where it is today without Slayer. This September at Hershey Park Stadium in Pennsylvania, I’m excited and honored to host Slayer’s show and bring wrestling into their world.”
“Honored to share the stage with one of our all-time favorite bands, Slayer. See you sick f*cks at the riff clinic.“ — Power Trip
“We’re excited to play with some of the best heavy bands of all time, past and present.”
— Knocked Loose
“I’m very excited to bring Chaos AD to share the stage with Slayer. This show is a dream come true line-up for any Metalhead!” -— Max Cavalera
Slayer’s 2025 concert dates are as follows:
SEPTEMBER
18 Louder Than Life @ Highland Festival Grounds, Louisville, KY
20 Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, PA
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About Slayer (2025)
For more than four decades, Slayer’s onslaught has proved the band to be the supreme thrash-metal band on the planet, the band that other heavy acts are still measured against and aspire to. Their membership in “The Big Four” – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax – the four bands that defined the thrash/metal genre – secures their place in music history.
The five-time nominated, two-time Grammy winners have also accumulated an abundance of certified Gold Albums along with “Best…” awards from media outlets all over the world, including Kerrang!, SPIN, Metal Hammer, Revolver, and Esquire. Throughout Slayer’s history, the band never faltered in unleashing its extreme and focused sonic assault, and, unlike many of its contemporaries who commercialized their sound, Slayer remained crushing and brutal, steadfastly refusing to cater to the mainstream. Slayer’s founding member, guitarist Jeff Hanneman passed in 2013, and Exodus guitarist Gary Holt has been filling that spot since.
Paul Bostaph, who was Slayer’s drummer from ’94 – ’01, rejoined bassist/vocalist Tom Araya
and guitarist Kerry King in 2013, and remains back behind the kit.
In January 2018, Slayer announced they were calling it a day and would be doing one final world tour to thank its fans for their support over the years. Launched on May 10, 2018, by the time the 18-month tour wrapped on November 30, 2019, Slayer had played 148 shows, performing in 34 countries and 146 cities around the world, and in 40 U.S. states. In September, 2024, Slayer surprised fans with the news that they would headline three, major summer U.S. festivals – Riot Fest, Louder Than Life, and Aftershock. While Slayer has no plans to do any extensive touring, the band likely will continue to play some one-off shows, such as the recent Black Sabbath concert in the UK, a handful of headline UK dates, and select major festivals. All Hail Slayer. Take a digital deep dive into Slayer’s 40+ years via “Slaytanic Verses,” the band’s online museum – https://www.slayer.net/
About Knocked Loose
Forged on musical bonds built at an early age, Knocked Loose came together in the small yet relatively formidable hardcore / punk scene of the greater Louisville, KY area– the same that gave birth to bands ranging from Slint to Breather Resist to Endpoint to Coliseum. And though said scene was relatively strong, a lack of available bands, touring parties and scarcity of gigs forced diversity– mixing genres and challenging young ears with new ideas, approaches and styles. That diversity-– death metal bands mingling with youth crew, screamo on the same bill as Am-Rep-style bands and on and on– created the basis of Knocked Loose musically and the genesis for their approach, an amalgam of heavy influences that never commits to any singular style but maintains a loyalty to the hardcore tradition.
About Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies was formed in Venice, California, during the early ’80s. Founded by lead singer Mike Muir, younger brother of original Z-Boy and Dogtown Skateboard founder Jim Muir, ST merged the essence of skating, surfing and the Dogtown area, with a new Style of hardcore that brought a new crowd to punk and metal shows.
Since the first release in 1983, the band has constantly evolved, and now has several Gold records and Grammy Nominations, was Inducted into the Skateboard Hall of Fame and had some of the biggest names in music, from Robert Trujillo, Thundercat, Josh Freese, Brooks Wackerman, etc. Now 40 years after the release of the first self titled album, ST is Mike Muir, Ben Weinman (Dillinger Escape Plan), Dean Pleasants, Tye Trujillo (Robert’s son) and newest member Jay Weinberg on drums, still bringing the energy and aggression like it’s 1983 all over.
About Power Trip
Power Trip is a crossover thrash metal band from Dallas, Texas. Their sound, an inseparable mix of hardcore punk, speed, and death metal was informed by the sounds of the Cro-Mags, Vio-lence, Nuclear Assault, and Leeway, and draws fans from across the extreme music spectrum.
The band began as a five-piece in Dallas, Texas in 2008. Their initial lineup consisted of bassist Chris Whetzel, drummer Marcus, vocalist Riley Gale, and guitarists Blake “Rossover” Ibanez, and Nicky “Thrasher” Stewart. They released a collection of five demos that same year. In 2009 Marcus left and was eventually replaced by veteran Chris Ulsh (Hatred Surge, Mammoth Grinder, The Impalers). They released a four-song EP entitled Armageddon Blues. They also began touring, first throughout Texas, then the Southwest and California, and then nationally. Usually, in addition to the band and their gear, an extended voluntary entourage would travel with them, often in the same van to help with hauling gear, working the merchandise table and the box office, etc.
About Cavalera (performing Chaos A.D.)
Since 1983, the name CAVALERA has become synonymous with extreme metal music, a name that to this day still holds the highest regard, a family legacy built upon decades of musical aggression. Over forty years ago, the CAVALERA brothers were spearheading the first wave of thrash, death and black metal, and despite their faraway Latin-American roots, have garnished worldwide attention and critical acclaim with their ferocious songwriting and unstoppable drive.
About Exodus (performing Bonded by Blood)
Now celebrating 40 years as a band, the EXODUS lineup is comprised of: Tom Hunting on Drums, Gary Holt on Guitar, Lee Altus on Guitar, Jack Gibson on Bass, and Steve “Zetro” Souza as lead vocalist. All these years and EXODUS still boast a similar writing process to what they started out with. Although technology has made it so that the recording and mixing processes are less time consuming, the main change is really just that “[they] respect what [they] do a lot more,” states Hunting. “We’ve humbled ourselves to the journey and consider ourselves lucky to do what we do, but our creative process is still the same. Basically drums, guitar concepts; those are the starting point. After the music begins to take place we all process it and write together.
Photo credit: Martin Hausler
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