SLAYER Split With RICK RUBIN's AMERICAN Label After Receiving 'Insulting' Offer For New Album

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King says that the band's split with longtime label American Recordings came after the group was offered an "insulting" deal for its eleventh album.

SLAYER's long-awaited new CD, "Repentless", which is scheduled for release on September 11 via Nuclear Blast, marks the band's first effort without the backing of Rick Rubin's record company since 1985's "Hell Awaits".

Speaking to "The Metal Hammer Magazine Show"'s Alexander Milas, King stated about SLAYER's departure from American: "Solidarity is far stronger than jumping ship and going somewhere else. I thought we'd still be on American — but when we got the offer from American, I was insulted. That, to me, just said, 'Good luck, you're not gonna have good luck here anymore.' So we found our new friends at Nuclear Blast."

SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya added that the band didn't choose to end the 28-year relationship with Rubin. "It was more like he broke the news to us," Araya said. "When we started this record, it was on the pretext that we'd be working with Rick — but things didn't pan out. We've sort of moved on."

SLAYERoriginally started work on some of the songs for the album with producer Greg Fidelman, who helmed 2009's "World Painted Blood", but ended up hooking up with Date after Fidelman pulled out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. King told "The Metal Hammer Magazine Show": "I think this is gonna be a nice little progression going forward. However many records we do in the future, I hope Terry's free."

Araya also spoke about some of the negative fan reactions to SLAYER's decision to record a new studio album without the band's late guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died in May 2013.

"The fans are pretty ruthless, man, and with social media, it's bad," he said.

"People have opinions. Some are positive, and a lot of them are pretty fucking negative. It's hard to believe — especially considering these people are fans of the band."

But, he added, "Nothing that I or Kerry say will change what some of these people think or feel."

"Repentless" marks SLAYER's first CD since drummer Paul Bostaph's return to the band in 2013 and guitarist Gary Holt's addition to the SLAYER touring lineup in 2011.

SLAYER will tour extensively to support the new album, headlining this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival as well as playing other major outdoor festivals and several "An Evening With..." SLAYER-only concerts.