SLAYER founding members Tom Araya and Kerry King spoke with Patrick Ryan from USA Today on the eve of the band's Old School Slayer Night tour which launched last night (October 25) at the The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

"It's a whole different attitude all around," Araya says of the tour. "I was very hopeful that Jeff (Hanneman) would be able to get his abilities to play back, and that he would come back and play (with us) … (His death) just changed my attitude and opinions about certain things. I don't know if people would ever understand that, but things are different."

While he finds such memories amusing, Araya has now taken alcohol out of the equation. "I'm living longer and it's sensible," he says. "I'm just trying to be responsible and make sure that I stay healthy, and can play and perform and do what I do."

Among the new material Slayer are aiming to record early next year is a song written by Hanneman, which King says they'll be tinkering with musically and lyrically to make it the best it can be. "If it ends up being the last thing we ever use from Jeff Hanneman, I don't want people to say, 'Yeah, it could have been better,' " King says. "I want people to say, 'Yeah, that's rocking.'"

Read more at USA Today.

Upcoming Slayer tour dates with GOJIRA and 4ARM:

October

27 - Hollywood Palladium - Hollywood, CA
28 - Hollywood Palladium - Hollywood, CA
30 - Events Center at San Jose State - San Jose, CA

November

1 - WAMU Center - Seattle, WA
3 - Stampede Corrall - Calgary, AB
4 - Shaw Center - Edmonton, AB
5 - Praireland Park Center - Saskatoon, SK
7 - MTS Center - Winnipeg, MB
8 - Myth - Minneapolis, MN
10 - FunFunFun Fest - Austin, TX
12 - Bayou Music Center - Houston, TX
13 - South Side Ballroom - Dallas, TX
15 - Aragon Ballroom - Chicago, IL
16 - The Fillmore - Detroit, MI
17 - LC Pavilion - Columbus, OH
19 - The Fillmore - Washington, D.C.
20 - Stage AE - Pittsburgh, PA
21 - Ricoh Coliseum - Toronto, ON
23 - CEPSUM/University of Montreal - Montreal, QC
24 - Pavilion de la Jeunesse - Quebec, QC
26 - Oakdale Theatre - Wallingford, CT
27 - Theatre at MSG - New York, NY
29 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
30 - Tsongas Arena - Boston, MA