SLAYER Frontman Talks About 'Wall Of Blood', Show Cancellations

November 6, 2004

SLAYER frontman Tom Araya has spoken to Rolling Stone magazine about the "Wall of Blood" concert effect, where the band, their instruments, and the stage are drenched by a downpour of "blood" during their song "Raining Blood".

The band first introduced the "Wall of Blood" at the Civic Center in Augusta, Maine, for the taping of their just-released "Still Reigning" DVD. "It was messy," Araya said. "I couldn't play because the initial dump at the beginning of the song got all over me. I couldn't hold my pick. I was slapping my bass trying to get sound out of it."

SLAYER are still using the "Wall of Blood" effect as part of the Jägermeister Music Tour, but a little less of it. "They developed a portable system of rain that we could travel with," Araya said. "It's great to see the reaction in the crowd. People are looking around like, 'What the hell was that?' They don't see the raindrops — they only see them landing on us. We do it for the very last thirty seconds of the song, and I say 'good night' and people are still trying to get over the fact that, 'Dude, it was raining onstage.' To me, that was worth it."

The band had to cancel some of the shows because Araya has been battling sore vocal cords. "I saw a doctor in Rotterdam, and he said, 'Maybe your body is telling you that you need to rest your voice,'" Araya said. "I take the occasional spoonful of honey before I go on, and I've been drinking tea with lemon and warm fluids — and I avoid any excessive talking."

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