Kerry King Opens Up About Slayer’s Involvement in Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning

Slayer is among the many bands that will join Black Sabbath during Back to the Beginning in Birmingham, England, this summer. The one-day event will feature some of metal’s biggest names paying tribute to the trailblazing band. It will culminate with Ozzy Osbourne’s final solo performance and the final show for the original Sabbath lineup.

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Recently, Kerry King spoke to Rolling Stone Brazil about the event and his debut solo show in Brazil. During the conversation, he shared how he felt about Slayer’s involvement and gave a bit of info about what they will perform at Back to the Beginning.

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Slayer’s Kerry King on Back to the Beginning

Kerry King was speaking with Rolling Stone Brazil about his debut solo performance later this year. He will bring his solo band to the country for the first time as part of the Banger Open Air Festival in May. Then, the conversation led to Back to the Beginning.

“It’s such an honor to even be thought of to play that, and I’m glad we were in the working mode so we could get that offer,” King said. Then, he talked a little about what Slayer would perform during the once-in-a-lifetime event.

All of the bands performing at Back to the Beginning will play a Black Sabbath song. With Sabbath’s catalog, the bands had several iconic tunes to choose from. However, it sounds like Slayer might be playing a deep cut when they take the stage. “I drug my feet and picked our song really late,” King explained. He added that all of the “obvious choices” were already taken.

“The one I picked is gonna work out really cool. I worked it out with my band, so me and Paul [Bostaph] could rehearse it. So, we’ve already got it. We’ve just gotta get Tom and Gary on board,” he said. He and Bostaph, who plays drums in both King’s band and Slayer, will likely introduce the song to Araya and Holt in June when they rehearse for their summer shows in England.

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