Playing bass and growling every night on tour can cause even the greatest of shock-rocker screamers to lose their voice.

Slayer vocalist Tom Araya lost his voice during one of the band’s European shows. Slayer was only supposed have a six-day wait before embarking on its Jagermeister music tour.

Now, the band will have to wait even longer. The tour was supposed to kick off in Springfield, Mo. on Friday, but the band had to cancel four shows due to a voiceless Araya.

One of the four canceled dates was the band’s Saturday show at the Val-Air Ballroom, 301 Ashworth Road, in West Des Moines.

Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman says the European tour went very well despite a few problems.

“We’ve had equipment problems, and Tom blew his throat out the other night, so that was kind of bad,” Hanneman says. “He just kind of overworked it ’cause we’ve been touring a lot this year, and this is the second time it has happened.”

Hanneman says the second time Araya’s voice blew out wasn’t nearly as serious as the first.

“The first time it happened on this tour, he couldn’t sing at all,” he says. “He went through three songs without uttering a word. He looks in the crowd and goes, ‘Look, my voice is gone.’ He can’t tell them on the mic cause it’s not there.”

Hanneman says the band keeps playing and just hopes Araya’s voice will improve after a few songs. But the band understands why Araya’s voice would go out.

“It kind of sucks, but you know screaming like that every night is going to take its toll,” he says.

Slayer has been together for more than two decades, and Hanneman says the longevity is due to the understanding the members have about their treatment of each other. Pranking another member of the band, Hanneman says, is out of the question.

Other people they meet on tour, however, are fair game for post-show pranks, Hanneman says.

Fans who were planning to attend the show are out of luck. Slayer publicist Heidi Fitzgerald says the canceled dates probably won’t be made up, so fans in Iowa might have to wait until the band tours again in support of its upcoming album.

Slayer is still playing its shows in St. Louis, Minneapolis and Chicago. According to Ticketmaster.com, tickets for these three shows are still available.