Sorry Slayer fans. Your favorite band had to cancel its upcoming tour. The reason? Bass guitarist Tom Araya needs back surgery after he was diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy. What’s cervical radiculopathy? It’s a nerve root dysfunction where pressure is put on the nerve roots that exit the cervical spine. It’s not really a common condition. The annual incidence is approximately 85 cases per 100,000 people.
The dysfunction typically affects the seventh (C7) and sixth (C6) cervical nerve roots. It can cause “pain, numbness and muscular spasms of the neck, radiating down to the shoulders.” Basically, this isn’t something you wanna ef with.
So how does someone get cervical radiculopathy? Well, Tom Araya has been a headbanger for nearly four decades. He first picked up a bass guitar when he was 8 years old, and he’s been bangin’ his head to the speed and thrash metal that’s been the signature sound of Slayer since 1981. That’s a lot of headbanging, and it comes at a cost.
The 48-year-old Araya was hoping to avoid surgery, but minimally-invasive procedures didn’t do enough to alleviate the pain he’s felt since the band toured Australia, New Zealand and Japan back in October.
“As unfortunate as this is for so many people – the Megadeth and Testament camps, the concerts’ promoters, and, of course, the fans – Tom’s health is the number one priority, and this has to happen,” said Rick Sales, Slayer’s manager.
Looks like Slayer fans will have to turn to Jack Johnson for a bit until the American Carnage tour dates can be rescheduled.
Comments
Wiggy
January 20th, 2010 - 6:52:51 PM
Way to publish news that's more than a week old.
1