Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider revealed that Tom Araya‘s struggles with Slayer played a role in his decision to call it a day with TS back in 2016, telling SiriusXM:
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“I say this with love to Tom Araya, I say this with absolute love, but I read an interview with Tom talking about how he can no longer headbang on stage because of his neck problems. He said, ‘I used to define myself by my thrashing onstage, and now all I can do is sit there and groove…’ That hit me like a ton of bricks!
“Because A) I felt for Tom; and B) I said, ‘I don’t want that to happen [to me].’
You know, nobody can defeat gravity. When somebody defeats gravity, let me know. Because eventually it takes everybody out and we’re all pulled into the ground. So I just said, ‘I got to draw the line somewhere so I can at least step away gracefully in some way.’
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“It’s like that footage of Babe Ruth after he was traded from the Yankees. I can’t remember where he went – was it Atlanta? [it was Boston] He would walk around the bases, literally walk – it’s this sad, old footage. But it was rare footage, and now everybody’s filming everything, every moment, and I don’t wanna be there for that.”