ShockHound.com Wrote:
Now that Canadian teen pop sensation Justin Bieber has topped the charts in the US and Canada with his new My World 2.0 album, he can get pretty much anyone he wants to open his spring tour for him. And in a surprising show of good taste, the swoop-haired 16-year-old has tapped thrash metal legends Slayer to be his opening band. The series of live dates, creatively dubbed the "My World Painted Blood 2.0" tour, will begin sometime in early May and run through early June at arenas across North America.
"I like Slayer," enthuses Bieber, explaining his unexpected choice of openers. "They're awesome!" Though it was released four years before he was even born, Bieber says he counts "Expendable Youth," from 1990's Seasons in the Abyss, as his favorite Slayer tune. "I can really relate to it, because a lot of people think I'm an expendable youth," he says. "Like, they say I'm just a teen idol who won't be popular any more by next year, and that my fans will forget all about me once I've been discarded by the same music industry that's exploited me for every last dollar. But I'm smart, right? And I have real talent, right? Slayer's music helps me remember who I really am!"
"I don't fuckin' care," shrugs Slayer guitarist Kerry King, when asked if it will be weird playing to arenas full of young pop fans gripped by "Bieber Fever." "I love metal, I love playing metal, and I'll play it in front of a fuckin' Tupperware convention, as long as they pay me and put a Jagermeister machine backstage. Plus, it'll be a good way to warm up for our summer tour, and those 'Big Four' Sonisphere dates in Europe. If this Bieber kid thinks he has balls enough to follow us, good for him."
As far as Slayer toning down their volume, lyrics or stage presentation in order to keep from offending Bieber's following (or their parents), well, don't bet on it. "Hahaha, are you kidding?" King laughs. "We're fuckin' Slayer! If some soccer mom out there doesn't like us singing about mass murderers or whatever, she can suck a dick."
Though Bieber has never met King or any of the other members of Slayer, he says he's really looking forward to hanging out with them on this tour and picking their brains for advice. "They've been in the music business almost twice as long as I've been alive," he marvels. "I'm sure they have many helpful tips they can share with me about how to sustain my career."
King, on the other hand, is mostly looking forward to getting hammered with the teen star. "I've got this one shot, 'The Three Wise Men,' that's one-third Jager, one-third Goldschlager, and one-third Rumpel Minze," he chuckles. "I'd like to see what happens when this emo fucker does a couple of those!"
Still, while King says he's happy to dole out the liquid hospitality backstage, he thinks it's important to lay down a few guidelines before the tour gets underway. "All I know is, that little jerk better not swipe any of my booze when I'm onstage," King cautions. "He tries that shit, and I'll let one of my poisonous snakes loose on his bus. We'll see whose world it is then, pal!"
Tickets for the "My World Painted Blood 2.0" tour will be available only through ShockHound, so be sure to check back here for dates and venue details as they become available.
