Slayer singer/bassist Tom Araya and his wife Sandra have renewed their wedding vows in a ceremony officiated by the thrash metal band’s guitarist Gary Holt.
In a post to Instagram on Sunday (September 7), Holt revealed that he was ordained to oversee the vow renewal, which took place somewhere in the state of Texas on Saturday (September 6). He also shared a photo of himself in a clerical shirt, which you can see below.
Holt wrote: “So yesterday I had the great honor of having been asked to renew the vows for my dear friends Tom and Sandra Araya! (yes I am ordained!)
“What a great day in the great state of Texas! @lisaholt777 [Gary’s wife Lisa Holt] and our BFF @jrohova and I made the trip for this most special of occasions! Much love to all!”
Tom and Sandra Araya married on September 6, 1995, with the vow renewal ceremony marking their 30th wedding anniversary. The couple have two children together, Ariel Asa Araya (born 1996) and Tomas Enrique Araya Jr (1998), and live on a ranch in Texas.
Araya co-founded Slayer in 1981 and Holt joined the band first in a live capacity in 2011 – replacing founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman, then ill with necrotising fasciitis – before becoming a full-time member following Hanneman’s death as a result of liver failure in 2013.
Slayer retired at the end of an extensive worldwide farewell tour in 2019, but made their comeback last year. Since their return they’ve played a number of US festivals, appeared at Black Sabbath’s farewell show Back To The Beginning and headlined two concerts in the UK.
They’ll perform at Louder Than Life festival in Louisville on September 18, after their planned set there last year was cancelled due to adverse weather, and will play their first North American headline concert in six years at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania on September 20.
As well as Slayer, Holt plays guitar in the thrash band Exodus, where he also serves as their main songwriter. The band brought ex-vocalist Rob Dukes back into the fold in February, following the third departure of longtime frontman Steve Souza, and hope to release a new album in 2026.
