On her Patreon page, where she does the bulk of her blogging these days, she cites acute Lyme disease, by way of a nasty bug bite (upsetting stuff, but the story of how she came down with it is, as always, beautifully told). She is, as she says, “doing the Totally Adult Thing” and cancelling her appearance in San Jose on Saturday.

For more than three decades, Slayer has lingered at heavy metal’s more extreme outposts, earning a reputation for aggressive audio assaults matched only by survival stories and broken bones in notorious mosh pits at the band’s live shows.

Boasting an aural arsenal of frenetically picked guitar lines, hammering drums and howling lyrics dripping with blood, the horrors of war and satanic symbolism, Slayer has always stood apart from other bands in the metal genre—and thusly has inspired a rabid, cult-like devotion among fans.

But in 2013, Slayer finds itself at its most vulnerable, reemerging for its first tour since founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman died last May of liver failure. The tour stops Oct. 30 at the Event Center at San Jose State University.

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“There was a lot of stuff that we had already lined up to do, and then we got the news about Jeff passing—so at the moment it’s more about fulfilling obligations—after this tour is over, we have to sit down and really discuss what the plans are, what the future is,” says bassist and vocalist Tom Araya.

Hanneman had not toured with Slayer since 2011 due to the effects of Necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease that he may have contracted from a spider bite, so it was unexpected when it was revealed the condition that took his life was determined to be alcohol-related cirrhosis. Hanneman’s longtime friend and Exodus guitarist Gary Holt has filled in for the guitarist since he first stopped touring.

“We’re moving forward, and finishing up the year, basically so everyone can have closure,” Araya says. “It will allow fans to have closure too and we can all remember Jeff one last time.”

Thousands of people, including family, friends and fans, attended a public memorial for Hanneman in late May at the Hollywood Palladium, and Araya says that these shows also offer a way to pay tribute to their departed comrade.

“It’s the old cliché, no one is ever really respected for what they do until they pass, and then you realize the profound effect that he had on a lot of people, and the effect the band has on a lot of people,” Araya says. “We have a banner
that we had made with Hanneman’s name on it and at the end of the set we drop it and the whole place goes nuts. I’m touched by that alone, that the fans have been very supportive, and coming out in droves.”

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After the tour is completed, Araya says he will begin working on Slayer’s next album, a process that actually began more than two and a half years ago, before Hanneman became ill.

“In the course of rehearsals Jeff brought in two or three things he was working on and I thought it was awesome,” Araya says. “It was really cool, but he never brought us finished products, they were things he was still working on, and that’s the stuff I want to see if I can find. I want to see how far he got with a lot of that music, because it was just amazing stuff; we listened to it in jaw-dropping awe.”

Hanneman’s contributions to Slayer were key to the formation of the band; he wrote or co-wrote many of their best-known songs, such as “Angel of Death” and “Raining Blood,” and it was his academic knowledge of and infatuation with World War II history that informed much of the group’s lyrical content and art design.

His wild guitar riffs and manic solos helped shape the musical foundation on which the group built their legendary status; a legacy that has been cited as hugely influential by a vast array of other guitarists in the metal realm.
While Araya says that he and guitarist Kerry King will need to hash out some differences that they have concerning the overall future of Slayer, he is determined to at least make an album truly befitting the spirit of his friend.

“This record has to be something special, it has to be extraordinary—it can’t just be another Slayer record,” Araya says. “There’s a lot on the plate for the band, and we’ve gotten quite a bit of support from a lot of fans.
“We’ve also gotten a lot of negative feedback about things that we’ve done [over the years], so we’ll see what the future holds. Usually our attitude about that has been ‘Fuck ‘em!’ It seems to have worked for us so far, so I doubt we’ll change that aspect of the band.”

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As Bassnectar, Lorin Ashton produces in an amorphous style with signature bass drops, rhythmic tempo ranges and a genre-bending blend of dubstep, hip-hop and metal, inspired in part by his formative years in San Jose‘s heavy metal scene.

Since emerging as a popular DJ at Burning Man, the producer has gone on to perform at most major festivals in the U.S. and overseas. He has built a reputation as a leader in the bass scene with a history of sold-out performances at a variety of worldwide venues. He returns to San Jose on Sept. 21 for a hometown show at the Event Center at San Jose State University.

We talked with him about the explosive growth of dance music, drugs at dance music events and the idea of music as a community experience.

Dance music has witnessed explosive growth over the last few years. Do you think the audience is continuing to grow?

I’m not too sure. I’ve been kind of having my head down working nonstop for so long that I don’t really even like commenting on the current state of affairs—party because I feel like very much an outsider in EDM, and that’s by choice.

My natural interests seem to waiver outside the rules of the current trends. I’m so much more interested in my personal fan base, working with the musical ideas I have and creating the tours to be the best they can be. I’m not too sure about modern music outside of that.

Where do you see your music going next?

I just feel like it’s going to continue for as long as I can. Doing my thing, letting that really unfold in honest and organic ways. Currently that’s meant working nonstop and creating music for my live show.
This fall, we’re unveiling for the first time ever what we call the UNS or the “ultimate nerd server.” It is the most robust and insane video system that I am aware of in existence in terms of allowing me to sync every single sound or song in my set to a corresponding video clip and to combine them together in an immediate and completely live way.
Most DJs spin their whole sets with their hands in the air congratulating themselves while a CD player plays their set for them. I’m doing the opposite of that musically, becoming fully involved and immersed in the flow of the set.

Dance music for years has been about creating a community experience. Do you get a sense that there is more or less of a community as the genre expands?

For me, I’m interested in community as 50 percent of my art form. The idea is really to conjure the feeling that I felt as I kid at my first shows or raves and bring that new experience into new rooms and into peoples’ lives.
I didn’t know what to expect the last time we played in San Jose. I don’t think I had ever played in San Jose before. I never thought that room at San Jose State University would work for a Bassnectar show. It was definitely not only one of the top shows of the year for me, it’s one of my favorite venues in the country now.

While other festivals or shows seem to be having a lot of problems with drug overdoses and bad behavior, we had the head of security and production at San Jose State writing us a letter thanking us for having one of the best fan bases and crews they had ever worked with.

The misunderstanding of any form of music about drug abuse is something that I think is always debated, but certainly for me, [I’ve had] such an immersive music career and musical experiences of my own without being high on any kind of drug. I see that the same thing is true for so many friends and fans. I’m really excited about the idea that people can enjoy music and go just as far and deep into an experience while also really prioritizing their health and their safety.

To me that doesn’t sound tame or boring. It’s not like, “Oh, this is music light because we don’t use drugs.” It actually allows for a deeper experience because you can interact with each moment on a fuller level and remember what happened. That part of the community that does prioritize health reminds me of the ’80s and ’90s straight-edge scene in the punk-rock world and death metal world. It was the most hardcore looking and acting individuals with an “X” on their hands to signify “I’m not fucked up and still enjoying this music.” It really inspires me.

I’m all about creativity and going fucking wild, but as you go buck wild, doing it in a way that honors your nervous system because you’ve only got one.

What influenced you to incorporate charitable causes and philanthropy in your music career?

I’m just so grateful for everything that I have in my life and everything I’ve been given that I just honestly enjoying giving things back. It’s a natural reflex for me and it’s how I convey my awe of life and the world around me. I love to encourage other people to do that in any way they can. Giving $1 for every Bassnectar ticket for every show of mine is something I’ve been doing for as long as I have been doing Bassnectar shows. The other part is allowing people to get interactive and making people aware of community organizations that actually work around the clock to benefit their lives, family and friends and giving them a chance to support those organizations.

We have multiple causes, but the three that I’m kind of focusing on for the fall [are] basically net neutrality and the importance of keeping the Internet a free and easily accessible space for everyone. This is an issue that affects 8-year-olds up to 80-year-olds. It’s about freedom of information, the right to privacy and use of an Internet that is the least corporately controlled and censored as possible.

Another one of the issues is mental health. It’s more about people who may feel lost, confused, depressed or suicidal and or emotionally overwhelmed and don’t know who to turn to and providing them opportunities to seek guidance and counseling to avoid suicide, self-abuse and to help them find their way to plug into life. The third is somehow contributing towards universal health care—free clinics that provide healthcare to the economically disadvantaged.

Early on, you were associated with parties at Burning Man. Did you go this year?

I’ve been to 12, but I haven’t been in three years. I may go back again, but it’s like anything that you’ve done 12 times—there’s only so many times you need to do something. I just felt very thankful for the experiences that I had there, but these days I can barely keep up with my own schedule.

It served its place for me back in the mid ’90s. It was a really important part of my life. At that time, there were few other chances to interact musically and culturally with freaks from all around the country. I think it’s a great thing and I hope people have fun out there.

Your live music trajectory started by playing at Santa Cruz classrooms and forest raves, then San Francisco house parties, now to Coachella, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands and Electric Daisy Carnival. What’s left on your list for venues to conquer?

It’s funny you said that last word because I do feel that in any kind of career and business, whether it’s a business career or artistic, is in some ways about conquering, even in achieving goals. I don’t feel any urge toward that, but I feel the same strength and ambition to thrive that I’ve always felt.

My focus is to strengthen and nurture what I have been creating. I’m more interested in enjoying it and enjoying the special and magical rather than the size of it. Things may grow or increase; it will be a natural progression. I’m just really focused on sustaining the most special and magical things about the Bassnectar shows.

Do you get to spend much time in San Francisco or San Jose? Where are we most likely to find you on a day off?

That would be the last secret I would divulge. I will just say that I’ve got a never-ending love for the Bay Area both as a musical hub to play at and a perfect place to enjoy living.

San Jose-raised Bass producer Bassnectar will return for a hometown concert this fall with his “Immersive Music Tour” on September 21 at Events Center at San Jose State University.

“Our goal is to bring you the most immersive Bassnectar experience possible this fall with enhanced production, enhanced ambassador immersion and an alphabet of special effects,” the producer said in an announcement today. “We want to create the ideal atmosphere for people to lose themselves in the depths of music, like a journey to another world.”

Bassnectar last performed at the Events Center on May 5, for a show that quickly sold out.

“I think when people are at a Bassnectar show, there is an atmosphere of abandon that is also supported by an atmosphere of community,” Bassnectar told us in a Metro cover story before that show. “I don’t do drugs, I’m a very health-conscious person. I’ve got a very positive, humanistic type of personality. I’m trying to create an atmosphere where people are safe to go fucking buck wild and crazy for a couple hours. I guess I lead by example.”

Tickets for the concert at the Events Center go on sale July 19 at 10am at the Events Center box office, Ticketmaster or via phone at 800.745.3000. Tickets are $29 for San Jose State University students and $35 general admission. In addition to the San Jose date, Bassnectar performs regionally in Oakland and Reno during the tour.

Tour dates:

9/19 Oakland CA – Fox Theater
9/20 Reno, NV – Reno Events Center
9/21 San Jose, CA – Events Center at San Jose State University
9/26 Fargo, ND – Concert Hall at the Venue
9/27 Lincoln, NE – Pershing Auditorium
9/28 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
9/29 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant *
10/3 Kansas City, MO – The Midland
10/4 Bloomington, IL – US Cellular Coliseum
10/5 Grand Rapids, MI – Deltaplex
10/7 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
10/10 State College, PA – Bryce Jordan Center
10/11 Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
10/12 Montreal, QC – Metropolis
10/24 Charleston, SC – North Charleston Coliseum #
10/25 Asheville, NC – Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit (Bassnectar only)
10/26 Birmingham, AL – Boutwell Auditorium #

* Amp Live instead of Koan Sound
# ill-esha instead of Andreilien