SLAYER announces 'Reign In Blood' 40th-anniversary pop-up shop ahead of Los Angeles shows
30-10-2026
As SLAYER prepare to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their landmark 1986 album “Reign In Blood” with back-to-back sold-out performances at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on November 13 and November 14, the band has announced a dedicated anniversary pop-up shop running from November 12 through November 14. Produced in partnership with Global Merchandising Services, the three-day experience will give fans an opportunity to celebrate one of the most influential albums in music history with an exclusive collection of anniversary merchandise and limited-edition collectibles and special offerings available only at the shop.
Located at 6250 Hollywood Boulevard, adjacent to the W Hotel and Amoeba Music, the pop-up will feature the official “Reign In Blood” 40th-anniversary merchandise collection, alongside designs and items available exclusively at the shop. Among the highlights of the weekend overall, the band are releasing a portion of their personal stash of the “Reign In Blood” liquid zoetrope vinyl, bundled with a commemorative triptych and coin created to mark the milestone anniversary. Customers will also receive a QR code offering the chance to enter a giveaway for a signed SLAYER setlist or merchandise pack.
Yesterday SLAYER released a small number of production hold tickets for both Kia Forum shows. A limited number of general admission tickets will also be sold at the pop-up while supplies last.
Further details, including operating hours and the complete merchandise lineup, will be announced soon.
The lineup for all of SLAYER‘s comeback shows in 2024, 2025 and 2026 is the same as the one which last toured in 2019: guitarist Kerry King and drummer Paul Bostaph, along with bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Gary Holt.
“Reign In Blood” was released on October 7, 1986 through Def Jam Recordings. The album was the band’s first collaboration with record producer Rick Rubin, whose input helped the band’s sound evolve. Kerrang! magazine described the record as “the heaviest album of all time,” and a breakthrough in thrash metal and speed metal.
“Reign In Blood”‘s release was delayed because of concerns regarding its graphic artwork and lyrical subject matter. The opening track, “Angel Of Death”, which refers to Josef Mengele and describes acts such as human experimentation that Mengele committed at the Auschwitz concentration camp, provoked allegations of Nazism. However, the bandmembers stated numerous times they do not condone Nazism, and are merely interested in the subject.
On the topic the controversy surrounding “Reign In Blood”‘s lyrical content, SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman previously said, “‘Angel Of Death’ was a big problem. I remember getting a phone call after the album was done: Sony wasn’t going to release it. I remember being at home, pissed, throwing things. What the fuck? I didn’t think anything was wrong with ‘Angel Of Death’ or anything else we did, it’s a documentary! There’s no ‘Heil Hitler’ or ‘white people rule,’ it’s a documentary; grow up, people. It took months before they picked it up again. Finally, we got signed by a distributor.”
“Reign In Blood” was SLAYER‘s first album to enter The Billboard 200 chart (at No. 94). The LP was certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) on November 20, 1992 for sales in excess of 500,000 copies.
The Wutz Rockin’ channel on YouTube has uploaded video of SLAYER‘s entire October 24 performance at the Sick New World Texas festival at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. You can now watch the concert — in reverse song order, from last to first — in the YouTube playlist below. (Note: After each song, the YouTube player automatically jumps to the next song in the playlist.)
The setlist was as follows:
01. South Of Heaven
02. Hate Worldwide
03. Jihad
04. War Ensemble
05. Mandatory Suicide
06. Born Of Fire
07. Dead Skin Mask
08. Hell Awaits
09. Angel Of Death
10. Altar Of Sacrifice
11. Jesus Saves
12. Postmortem
13. Raining Blood
Remaining SLAYER 2026 concerts:
Nov. 13 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
Nov. 14 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
Dec. 5 – Bogotá, Colombia – Vive Claro
Dec. 10 – Santiago, Chile – Estadio Santa Laura
Dec. 14 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Movistar Arena
Dec. 17 – São Paulo, Brazil – Allianz Parque
The lineup for all of SLAYER‘s comeback shows in 2024 and 2025 was the same as the one which last toured in 2019: guitarist Kerry King and drummer Paul Bostaph, along with bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Gary Holt.
Formed in 1981, SLAYER assaulted the world with a new hybrid of metal and punk — heavier, faster, and darker than the rest — and set a new standard, defining not only a genre, but an attitude. Throughout SLAYER‘s history, the band never faltered in unleashing their extreme and focused aural assault, and repudiating temptations, SLAYER always chose to remain crushing and brutal, steadfastly refusing to cater to the mainstream.
“It’s the record where SLAYER became SLAYER.” That’s what Kerry King says about “Hell Awaits”. And he knows of what he speaks. As the band’s guitarist, co-songwriter, and co-lyricist, he was in the trenches with vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, guitarist Jeff Hanneman (R.I.P.),and drummer Dave Lombardo, creating what has become one of heavy metal’s greatest albums.
A significant departure from SLAYER‘s 1983 debut, “Show No Mercy” — and every SLAYER album that came after it — “Hell Awaits” is both an outlier and a solidification of form. “Show No Mercy” was the mission statement, but “Hell Awaits” is a more developed and intricate execution of SLAYER‘s speed, chops, and aggression.
Released in April of 1985 by Metal Blade Records, “Hell Awaits” was the pinnacle of an action-packed thrash year that saw debut albums from the likes of MEGADETH, EXODUS, KREATOR, POSSESSED, DESTRUCTION, HIRAX and OVERKILL. Heavily influenced by MERCYFUL FATE, the longer, more progressive arrangements on “Hell Awaits” marked a new era for SLAYER. Whereas most of the songs on “Show No Mercy” were less than four minutes long, three of “Hell Awaits”‘s seven tracks go beyond the six-minute mark.
“Jeff and I were still trying to figure out who we were as musicians, and we were both infatuated with MERCYFUL FATE‘s ‘Melissa’ album during the writing process for ‘Hell Awaits’,” King says. “That’s why there’s so few songs and most of ’em are pretty long. That’s the only time anything like that ever happened with us.”
Tom Araya‘s performance is similarly impressive. The vocalist spat lyrics a mile a minute on the likes of “Kill Again” and “Praise Of Death”.
“I don’t recall the songs being hard to sing,” he says. “Singing fast and clearly has always been something that I strived for.”
The reissue arrives May 15, 2026 in three physical formats and digitally. Preorders are available now at metalblade.com/slayer.
Vinyl box set:
3 LPs total: Seven-track “Hell Awaits” + 18-track live bonus audio (“Live From Bochum 1985”)
– 60-page book (12″ size)
– “Hell Awaits” album (in gatefold sleeve, 1xLP) mastered and restored from original 1985 production tapes by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony in February 2025. Vinyl color = Fire Splatter
– “Live From Bochum 1985” (in gatefold sleeve, 2xLP) – 18 live tracks never before released physically or digitally
– Replica ticket from the Bochum show
– Replica “Hell Awaits” tour laminate
– “Hell Awaits” tour poster (German dates)
– Slipmat
– Band posters
– Replica merch flyer
– Replica Satanic Wehrmacht newsletter
– 2 flyers
“Blood” Filled Liquid Vinyl (SLAYER store exclusive – limited to 666 worldwide):
Seven-track “Hell Awaits” album mastered and restored from original 1985 production tapes by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony in February 2025
– “Blood” filled liquid vinyl – gatefold
CD Earbook:
Earbook includes 3xCDs — seven-track “Hell Awaits” CD + 18-track live bonus audio (Live From Bochum 1985):
– “Hell Awaits” album (1xCD) mastered and restored from original 1985 production tapes by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony in February 2025
– Live From Bochum 1985 (2x CD) 18 live tracks never before released physically or digitally
– 60-page 11″ book
– Poster
Digital:
Includes seven-track “Hell Awaits” + 18-track live bonus audio (Live From Bochum 1985)
“Hell Awaits (40th Anniversary)” track listing:
01. Hell Awaits
02. Kill Again
03. At Dawn They Sleep
04. Praise Of Death
05. Necrophiliac
06. Crypts Of Eternity
07. Hardening Of The Arteries
08. Hell Awaits (Live From Bochum 1985)
09. Aggressive Perfector (Live From Bochum 1985)
10. Captor Of Sin (Live From Bochum 1985)
11. The Final Command (Live From Bochum 1985)
12. Kill Again (Live From Bochum 1985)
13. Crypts Of Eternity (Live From Bochum 1985)
14. Fight Till Death (Live From Bochum 1985)
15. Necrophiliac (Live From Bochum 1985)
16. Haunting The Chapel (Live From Bochum 1985)
17. Hardening Of The Arteries (Live From Bochum 1985)
18. Black Magic (Live From Bochum 1985)
19. Die By The Sword (Live From Bochum 1985)
20. The Antichrist (Live From Bochum 1985)
21. At Dawn They Sleep (Live From Bochum 1985)
22. Show No Mercy (Live From Bochum 1985)
23. Evil Has No Boundaries (Live From Bochum 1985)
24. Chemical Warfare (Live From Bochum 1985)
25. Praise Of Death (Live From Bochum 1985)
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