Slayer singer Tom Araya paused the band’s Los Angeles Kia Forum concert on Saturday, Nov. 14, to reprimand unruly fans in the arena seats over safety concerns and venue damage.
- Slayer halted their North American tour-ending performance at the Kia Forum seven songs into the set after fans in the seating area began getting excessively rowdy.
- Frontman Tom Araya stepped in to warn the crowd that dangerous moshing in the seats risks getting shows shut down and forces the band to pay for property repairs.
- After a five-minute pause and an initial round of boos, the crowd calmed down, allowing the group to finish their set without further incident.
The unexpected intermission happened just seven songs into Slayer’s North American tour-ending performance at the Kia Forum in Inglewood. The band had been dusting off deep-cut tracks like “God Send Death,” “Bloodline,” and “The Antichrist” for the first time live in nearly a decade.
Between playing “Jihad” and “Seasons in the Abyss,” according to Loudwire, the frontman noticed that fans in the arena seating were trashing the venue and putting safety at risk.
Araya asked for the house lights to be turned on before addressing the crowd directly. He explained that the fire marshal had stepped in to halt the performance until the audience regained control.
“The fire marshal said we’re gonna pause. We’re gonna pause until you guys get your shit and your act together,” Araya told the fans in the arena seats, as reported by Musician Voice. “There’s no one to blame but you. You know who I’m talking about.”
During the five-minute timeout, Araya explained the distinction between the mosh pit directly in front of the stage and the arena seating areas further back. He said that while heavy moshing is expected near the front, it becomes dangerous and destructive when brought into the seated sections.
“Listen, if you guys wanna have fun, you have fun right down here in front of us. Do it over here where there’s nothing you can destroy except each other,” Araya said. “When you start doing shit on the outside of the line over there, they’re gonna shut the place down.”
The singer also pointed out the financial consequences of unruly behavior, noting that property damage inside the venue ultimately falls on the band to cover. He criticized a general lack of consequences in modern culture, warning that the group might simply walk away if the behavior persisted.
“You think . . . you can get away with shit and not get in trouble for it? WE end up in trouble for it. We have to pay for that shit,” Araya told the crowd, according to Loudwire.
Despite an initial mix of boos, cheers, and chants of “Ole, ole,” the crowd ultimately heeded the warning. The band returned to the stage five minutes later without any further warnings to carry on with “Seasons in the Abyss.”
The rest of the night proceeded without incident, culminating in a complete performance of their landmark 1986 album Reign in Blood in its entirety, followed by a final encore of “Black Magic” from their 1983 debut Show No Mercy.
