Tomás Enrique Araya Díaz is a Chilean American musician, best known as the vocalist and bassist of American thrash metal band Slayer.
Araya was employed as a respiratory therapist in the early 1980s and used his earnings to finance Slayer’s debut album Show No Mercy (1983). Much of Araya’s lyrical content is about serial killers, a subject he finds interesting; his first credited lyrical contribution was the vampire-themed track “At Dawn They Sleep” from 1985’s Hell Awaits.
| Net Worth: | $14 Million |
|---|---|
| Born: | June 6, 1961 |
| Origin: | Viña del Mar, Chile |
| Last Updated: | 2024 |
Personal life
Araya has a brother, Juan “Johnny” Araya, who currently plays bass in the melodic death metal band Thine Eyes Bleed. He has also occasionally worked as a roadie for Slayer.
Araya resides in Buffalo, Texas, where he owns a ranch with his wife Sandra Araya and two children, daughter Ariel Asa Araya (b. 1996) and son Tomas Enrique Araya Jr. (b. 1998). He and his wife run a family ranch that includes 60+ head of cattle among other ranch animals. Araya reports that he sings country songs to help keep his “singing chops up.”