Kerry King Reacts to Fans Calling His Debut Solo Album “Slayer on Steroids”

April 3, 2025 4:05 pm

Kerry King released his debut solo record From Hell I Rise in May 2024. The 13-track collection brings the kind of speed, aggression, and lyrical content that fans would expect from the former Slayer guitarist. Since its release, fans have shared varying opinions on the album. Some think that King should have gone a different direction with his solo project, while others see it as an extension of what he has been doing since the ’80s.

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Recently, King spoke to Brazilian radio station Radio Kiss FM 92.5 about his solo project, his tour, and more. During the conversation, he shared his reaction to fans’ opinions about his debut solo record.

Kerry King Just Wants to Make Good Music

Interviewer Bruno Sutter asked Kerry King how he felt about people describing From Hell I Rise as Slayer on steroids. “I appreciate that,” King said. “I didn’t go out of my way to outdo Slayer. To me, it was honestly the next 12 or 13 songs, the ones we finished, the ones we felt good about,” he explained.

“I do think that record’s got teeth,” he said of From Hell I Rise. “It’s fierce, it just rips out of the speakers. I never set out to do anything better than Slayer. I just wanted my next thing to be good,” he added.

King also shared his opinion on those who say that he should have gone a different direction with his solo project. “The only thing I have to say to something like that, and it makes perfect sense–I want AC/DC to be AC/DC, I want Judas Priest to be Judas Priest. People want Kerry King to be Kerry King, I think,” he explained. “To me, it’s people that are just haters on the internet. They have an opinion about everything, and no one gives a sh*t about their opinion.”

King Wishes He Could Have Found a Band Name

Sutter also asked Kerry King how it feels being the “total leader” of his new band. “I still think of myself as a band member,” he said. “Believe it or not, I never wanted to call it my name. I wanted to have a band name, but let me tell you something–you try to get a band name, see how far you get. I worked on it for years and I couldn’t do it,” he explained. “Then, it became time to announce some of our first shows, and we had to call it something. So, everybody knew my name, the logo’s pretty cool so we went with it,” he added.

King went on to say that he still wishes he could come up with another name for the band, adding, “It’s really awkward for me when five of us are on stage and they’re just shouting for me. … I’m not that kind of guy,” he said. “I want everybody else to get recognition, too.”

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