Second Coming: Slayer’s ‘Christ Illusion’ Rises Again

Slayer's 2006 album, Christ Illusion, is getting new life in the form of a two-disc reissue package. The reissued album will feature new songs, a bonus DVD and stunning new cover art featuring an "animated" lenticular image of a hand bleeding from a crucifixion wound.

Released by Slayer’s label, American Recordings, the expanded Christ Illusion will be issued on July 24 in tandem with the band's co-headline summer trek with Marilyn Manson, which kicks off July 25 in West Palm Beach, Florida (see below).

Bonus material on the CD includes an alternate version of the track "Black Serenade" and a brand-new song, "The Final Six," a song about the world’s end, written by Slayer bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman.

The DVD includes live footage of the 1988 Slayer classic "South of Heaven," filmed in Vancouver on last year's Unholy Alliance Tour, and Slayer on Tour 07, a five-minute live-and-behind-the-scenes documentary-style montage of footage shot on tour earlier this year in the U.S. and Australia. Also included is the video for "Eyes of the Insane." Directed by Iranian filmmaker Tony Petrossian, the video is a first-person narrative about the horrors leading up to a soldier’s final moments. The video earned Slayer their first-ever Grammy Award, for Best Metal Performance.

Originally released on August 8, 2006, Christ Illusion became Slayer's highest-ever Billboard chart debut, entering the Top 200 Albums Charts at No. 5 and becoming a Top 10 album around the world in its first week of release. The album marked the long-awaited return to the studio of Slayer's legendary original lineup: Araya, Hanneman, guitarist Kerry King and drummer Dave Lombardo. Christ Illusion was produced by Josh Abraham and executive produced by Rick Rubin.

Dates for the Slayer/Manson coheadlining tour:

JULY
25 Sound Advice Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, FL
27 Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL
28 Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA
30 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
31 Tower City Amphitheatre, Cleveland, OH

AUGUST
2 Tweeter Center, Philadelphia, PA
4 DCU Center, Worcester, MA
5 PNC, Holmdel, NJ
7 Centre de Foire, Quebec, QC CANADA
8 Bell Centre, Montreal, QC CANADA
10 Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON CANADA
11 DTE Music Theatre, Detroit, MI
13 Allstate, Chicago, IL
14 Xcel, Minneapolis, MN
16 TBA
18 Coors Amphitheatre, Denver, CO
21 Sleep Train Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA
23 Sleep Train Pavilion, Concord, CA
24 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre @ Irvine, Los Angeles, CA
25 San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA
27 Cricket Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ
28 Journal Pavilion, Albuquerque, NM
30 Nokia Theatre, Dallas, TX
31 Reliant Arena

SEPTEMBER
1 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, San Antonio, TX