It's nearly five years ago to the day that we learned that legendary Slayer frontman Tom Araya could no longer headbang due to issues with his neck. At the time, fans were concerned this might impact the band's legendary stage show. After all, they were known for moments like this:
But, five years gone and Araya still delivers live. If anything, his singing and signature screaming improved thanks to added focus. But, in a recent interview with Loudwire, Araya reveals he really misses headbanging:
I had neck surgery, so I can't headbang anymore. That was a big part of what I enjoyed, doing what I do. Singing and headbanging. I liked knowing that I was once known as a badass fucking headbanger. When you go out there, and you look at all these headbangers out there, pfft. Don't want to sound all big or anything, but there is no comparisons. A lot of them just do this nod thing, I was just [swings his arm up and down wildly]. That played a big part. Now I just groove with the music, which is cool. I'm grooving with the music. So that's changed a little for me. The physical connection, that to me was a big part of it. I got three
The physical connection, that to me was a big part of it. I got three vertebrae that are fused, it's the 5, 6 and 7. So it's the base of my neck. I could headbang if I wanted to, but it would continue doing damage to the rest of my neck, and then eventually there would just be the very top of my neck that would bend. Right now it's stiff. There's no flexibility.
I think we can all agree Tom made the wise choice to not headbang. Here's the full video clip:
[youtube]https://youtu.be/U_r8uIqPyI8[/youtube]
