As every living, breathing metalhead across the planet gears up for SLAYER's next audio triumph, World Painted Blood, BraveWords.com spoke with singer Tom Araya about their cult growing across the globe, coincidentally and eerily detailed on the band's forthcoming album artwork. Whether it be old-school word-of-mouth or the beauty of the internet, fans are craving this thrash metal beast.

"You hit it right," the menacing frontman agrees. "You're out in the middle of now here and the place is packed. There are several out in Europe that are like that. You're driving out in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden 20,000 people appear - like, 'where the fuck did they come from?' They appreciate the music. They appreciate you coming to play so they come and enjoy and have a great time. Americans are so spoiled - 'I'll catch 'em when they come back again.' Out there they say 'I need to go see them because they may not come again!'

As Slayer breaks into new territories, it appears that it's becoming politically and socially acceptable to perform/play rock music in certain parts of the world unlike in the past.

"We played Singapore a while back and recently we played Russia only for the second time," Araya says. "We've had offers from strange parts of the world because it seems to be acceptable now to have hard rock bands play in a certain country. We had an offer from Beijing. But it wouldn't surprise me if we had offers from other crazy places. What's odd is with some of these places you wonder about the religious aspects of this band. When we showed up in Singapore, they said 'you can play every song in your catalog except all of of them!' You know, it was one of those situations where they wanted to alter the set when we got there. They know that if they lay on those demands before hand, we're not going to go. So the promoter gets you there and we were like 'what?' They had government watch dogs there to watch us perform and to make sure we didn't get out of hand or start a coo! C'mon, we're just a band."

Do you make yourself accessible to the fans in these foreign territories?

"I think we do a good job of not being accessible because whenever we show up we don't make ourselves available, so they want to see you. A lot of these younger bands rely on playing everywhere every day, so they can get the masses to come see them. They want to get on every tour. Sometimes you gotta take some breaks in between. It used to be comfortable meeting fans, but now it's very uncomfortable because some people can't control themselves. Sometimes they turn out to be in-stores. If I would make my way to a VIP tent at one of these shows, it would turn into a Tom Araya autograph session. Some places are not as comfortable as others. So I avoid that now. I don't mind hanging out in a room full of people, if they are going to act like people and just talk and enjoy each other's company. As opposed to acting like they'll never get this opportunity ever again and ruin it for everybody. That's when I leave. Even if it happens once, I walk out. If I do it for one person, I have to do it for everybody. The minute it starts with one or two people, I leave, because I'm not going to tell somebody 'no'. The other guys make themselves accessible a little more than I do."

Let's turn the tables. Who are you a fan of, an idol you'd like to meet?

"Yes, OZZY. You kind of stand and say to yourself, 'look, there goes Ozzy.' That's about it. I don't go up to him, I leave and give him his space. I'm sure he gets that from everybody and I don't want to be one of those people. It's your choice on how you want to be as a person. I choose not to drool all over him and demand an autograph or demand a picture 'cuz I'm never going to get this opportunity ever again. To me it's like 'wow, there he goes' and I'm happy. I've had the opportunity to see him walk past and that's more than what most people will ever get. If he would come and talk to me I'd be honored and privileged. And that would be it. But he would have to approach me. I'd feel too uncomfortable approaching him. If anything I'd introduce myself and let him know that he's a great entertainer and leave him at his peace. You see that on TV, the shit that these people go through. Some are worse than others and I say to myself, 'I'm glad I'm not like that cuz I'd be a fuckin' weirdo.' I'm glad my life is not like that. I'd be sued so many times telling people to stop taking pictures and to get the fuck away from me. I'm talking paparazzi-type and those are the ones that bug the shit outta me. They come up to you with two or three items - the same item. So you sit there and think what this person is going to do with these things? Some people come with stacks of shit and you think 'what are you going to do with all this.' I've just stopped making myself accessible.

Sounds like you haven't met Ozzy?

"I was introduced to him once. That was enough for me. In my course of working in Slayer, I've had the opportunity to walk past Mick Jagger (THE ROLLING STONES). So you smile and cordially nod. There's not much else you can do and there's no need for it. Not for me. If he would've come up to me, it would be more natural and I'd be obligated to speak to him. I'd be rude if I didn't."

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