Special Limited Edition of Slayer's Christ Illusion to Be Released World Wide July 24

A special limited edition of Slayer's 2006 album, Christ Illusion, will have a July 24 simultaneous global release (American Recordings), and will feature new songs, a bonus DVD and stunning new cover art -- a lenticular image of a hand bleeding from a crucifixion wound. The special limited edition Christ Illusion is being released in tandem with the band's co-headline summer trek with Marilyn Manson, kicking off July 25 in West Palm Beach, FL.

The Christ Illusion limited edition will be a two-disc package featuring an alternate version of the track "Black Serenade" and a brand new song, "The Final Six," a chilling look at the end of the world that was written by Slayer bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman, and produced by Josh Abraham.

The bonus DVD features the captivating video for the track "Eyes of the Insane," which was directed by Iranian filmmaker Tony Petrossian and won Slayer their first-ever Grammy award as "Best Metal Performance." The video is a first-person narrative about the horrors leading up to the final moments of a soldier at war. The entire video is a single, long and tight close-up of a soldier's eye with images clearly reflected within his pupil and iris, perfectly choreographed with the rhythm of the music. In addition, a live performance of the 1988 Slayer classic "South of Heaven," filmed in Vancouver on last year's "Unholy Alliance Tour," and "Slayer on Tour 07," a five-minute live-and-behind-the-scenes, all-hand-held documentary-style montage of footage shot when the band was on tour earlier this year in the U.S. and Australia, are included on the DVD.

Christ Illusion was originally released on August 8, 2006 and became Slayer's highest-ever Billboard chart debut, entering at #5 on the trade magazine's Top 200 Albums Charts. In addition, it was a Top 10 album around the world in its first week of release. Christ Illusion was produced by Josh Abraham and executive produced by Rick Rubin, and marked the long-awaited return to the studio of Slayer's legendary original line-up -- Araya, Hanneman, guitarist Kerry King and the once-and-future drummer, Dave Lombardo.

On Christ Illusion -- the original and the special limited edition -- the unabashedly controversial Slayer takes on Government and God, looking at the World Trade Center disaster from the terrorists' point of view, and repeatedly committing lyrical blasphemy, which caused the Washington Post to note "...Slayer consistently beats Christianity with an ugly stick." One major daily reviewer hypothesized, "If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he undoubtedly would be listening to Slayer ... beneath this aggressive veneer, is a social, political and interpersonal message that would put proud smiles on our nation's founders."

The New York Times wrote simply that "[Christ Illusion] is the most concentrated, focused Slayer record in 20 years."

  Slayer/Manson co-headline tour dates:

  JULY
  25 Sound Advice Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, FL
  27 Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL
  28 Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA
  30 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
  31 Tower City Amphitheatre, Cleveland, OH

  AUGUST
  2  Tweeter Center, Philadelphia, PA
  4  DCU Center, Worcester, MA
  5  PNC, Holmdel, NJ
  7  Centre de Foire, Quebec, QC  CANADA
  8  Bell Centre, Montreal, QC  CANADA
  10 Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON  CANADA
  11 DTE Music Theatre, Detroit, MI
  13 Allstate, Chicago, IL
  14 Xcel, Minneapolis, MN
  16 TBA
  18 Coors Amphitheatre, Denver, CO
  21 Sleep Train Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA
  23 Sleep Train Pavilion, Concord, CA
  24 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre @ Irvine, Los Angeles, CA
  25 San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA
  27 Cricket Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ
  28 Journal Pavilion, Albuquerque, NM
  30 Nokia Theatre, Dallas, TX
  31 Reliant Arena, Houston, TX

  SEPTEMBER
  1  Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, San Antonio, TX

SOURCE: Columbia Records

CONTACT: Heidi Ellen Robinson-Fitzgerald, Slayer national, +1-805-375-
5915 - phone, herfitz@earthlink.net; Julie Arkenstone, Slayer tour, +1-818-
363-1608, juliearkenstone@earthlink.net; Maggie Wang, Columbia Records, +1-
212-833-8208, maggie.wang@sonybmg.com

Web site: http://www.columbiarecords.com/