Pathology of 80s headbanging; Slayer frontman Tom Araya gets neck fused, warns fans

After a back surgery forced him to cancel tour dates in 2009, but didn't put an end to his pain, Tom Araya decided to go back under the knife and have a fusion in his cervical (neck) region in 2010.  

Listen to his first post-operative interview.

The interviewers ask silly questions about drugs, metal plates and airport screeners. Too bad they didn't bother to learn about the cadaver bone that's usually part of this excruciatingly painful solution.

But Tom keeps the interview focused as he makes clear that both he and Mike Muir (from the band Suicidal Tendendies) avoid painkillers in order to sidestep the addiction trap --- and also to have clarity regarding their symptoms; hard to know when to slow your roll when you don't feel the reality of your own body.

His understanding of pain is pretty enlightened for a guy in an industry famous for its excesses. As it should be, there have been times when he's utilized medications for pain and muscle spasms for short periods of time. 

Tom shares personal medical details about compressed nerves and other specifics that may surprise the average radio listener, but will likely thrill a dark, gothy one. Many of Tom's fans --- and heavy metal colleagues --- have been around long enough to experience some instance of back injury or pain themselves.

In fact, Tom was surprised to learn just how many of his contemporaries had struggled or undergone some type of procedure to relieve chronic pain. They all came out of the medical closet to show him support.

I will say that much of what Tom decribes from a treatment perspective was fairly "old school" in my own non-professional opinion. I know first-hand exactly what he's talking about (even our cervical numbers match up). The fact is, this brutal fusion process he describes is performed frequently in a number of different medical specialties. Although I cannot boast being the frontman for a heavy metal band all these years, I would place a small wager on the type of doc who performed his based simply on how it was handled.

The pop culture impact of the Slayer frontman's return to (modified) live performance has been widespread. Even "Entertainment Weekly" put it on this week's Hit List. I was, however, pleased to hear one of heavy metal's toughest guys announce that he's now an advocate of moderate headbanging.

As one of the radio interviewers blithely comments: We woke up in a different world today.