Slayer Temporarily Stop Show Due to Rowdy Crowd + Safety Concerns

Sometimes, metal concertgoers can get so unruly that serious safety concerns arise, as demonstrated by what happened during Slayer's concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. last night (Nov. 14). In fact, the band temporarily stopped the show, with frontman Tom Araya threatening to “go home” if the crowd didn’t calm down.

What Happened at Slayer’s Show Last Night?

It was the second show of Slayer’s two-night stint at the venue (in celebration of Reign in Blood’s 40th anniversary), and by all accounts, things were going well enough early on. However, that changed between the band playing “Jihad” and “Seasons in the Abyss” (per setlist.fm), when Araya noticed that fans were trashing the venue. He then asked to have the house lights turned on.

“Quiet! I just need your attention, alright?” he began, subsequently remarking: “I don’t know how many times I had this conversation when we first started playing in fucking huge places. I kept telling everybody, ‘Man, you gotta fucking maintain yourself. You can’t start destroying shit because they’ll shut the shit down.’”

The audience kept booing as he spoke, prompting Araya to add:

No, I don’t want to hear “Ohhhh!” Listen, if you guys want to have fun, you have fun right here in front of us, in the middle of the area where there’s NOTHING you can destroy except each other. When you start doing shit on the outside of that line right there, they’re gonna shut the place down. They don’t want anybody to get hurt. There’s a lot of people that want to come see the show. They don’t understand some of this stuff, and you guys get so fucking crazy, you start hurting each other.

Unfortunately, Araya’s words only seemed to make the crowd angrier, leading to him adding: “You guys, you know, I know it’s hard to fucking contain yourself. It’s hard to fucking maintain yourself. I know that, but you gotta fucking be respectful of the people around you, especially if you’re sitting in fucking seats.”

That comment seemed to elicit a mix of boos and cheers from the stadium, and Araya continued:

So, the fire marshal said we’re gonna pause. We’re gonna pause until you guys get your shit and your act together, okay? There’s no one to blame but you, and you know who I’m talking about. Not these people in the front, not them, not them [pointing to people closer to the stage]. It’s you motherfuckers behind these people. You know, now we’re in a time where people have – you know, there there’s no consequences for the shit you fucking do. You need – we need consequences. If you guys keep that shit up, we’re gonna go home.

Expectedly, the crowd booed more at Araya’s ultimatum, and he added:

And I hope you guys don’t do that [the] next time we come. You know, 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. I’m not joking, man. I’m not joking. Have you ever heard me talk to you like this?

The audience collectively shouted, “No!” and Ayara concluded:

So, you need to fucking get your heads on straight and behave like human fucking beings unless you’re in this fucking area right here in the front. Yeah, the fire marshals are here, and they’re here for your safety. YOUR fucking safety. Do you hear what I’m saying? All right, let’s see how you act. We might come back.

You can see various fan-shot clips of Araya’s announcement below:

According to Loudersound, though, Slayer returned to the stage five minutes later to finish their two sets. As shown in a video uploaded by YouTuber @ashavedyeti4452, they seemingly didn’t say anything else about the incident before carrying on with “Seasons in the Abyss.”

Other Details About the Show

Expectedly, and via setlist.fm, Slayer played Reign in Blood in its entirety during their second set (with “Black Magic” from 1983’s Show No Mercy closing the night). They also pulled out fan favorites “South of Heaven,” “Hell Awaits,” “Discipline,” “War Ensemble” and “Dead Skin Mask” beforehand.

Whereas their Nov. 13 show at the Kia Forum featured no longtime absent live revivals, last night’s concert saw Slayer do “God Send Death” for the first time since 2016 and both “The Antichrist” and “Bloodline” for the first time since 2017 (via setlist.fm).

Other Slayer News

Last month, Loudwire reported on former drummer Dave Lombardo claiming that Reign in Blood still gives him “chills.”

Specifically, Lombardo appeared on the Loaded Radio podcast (uploaded to YouTube on Oct. 9) and explained:

The palms of your hands get sweaty, you know? Your heart rate increases, and you're just in the moment. I've performed those songs so many times in my life on stage, and that adrenaline, just thinking about it, and when I listen to those songs, it triggers that adrenaline. I get charged. [Laughs] If I go into cardiac arrest, play “Angel Of Death” or “Raining Blood” or something, and watch me just pop up, like, “Hey, what's going on?'

In other news, Araya and Slayer guitarist Kerry King will hosting metal station “106.6 The Chamber” in upcoming video game Grand Theft Auto VI (which releases this Thursday, Nov. 19)! Obviously, they’ll go by DJ Tom and DJ Kerry, respectively, and during a recent preview, the pair can be heard hosting around excerpts from three songs: Black Sabbath’s “I,” Slayer’s “Raining Blood” and Pantera’s “I’m Broken.”

Pretty cool, right?!

How do you feel about Slayer temporarily pausing last night’s show? Let us know!

Also, keep scrolling to read our list of 31 rock and metal albums turning 40 in 2026 (including Slayer’s Reign in Blood)!