Helping form the legendary band Slayer, Kerry King watched as the group sold millions of albums and became part of the “Big Four” of thrash metal. Slayer found itself standing alongside other iconic bands like Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth. While going on hiatus back in 2019, King decided to explore a solo career, releasing the album From Hell I Rise in 2024. Having spent decades in the music industry, the musician recently revealed the one guitarist who could play circles around him.
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Although every musician wants to become the greatest, King understood that there are some musicians who take playing music to an entirely different level. When discussing his career in music on the Talk Louder podcast, King pointed to his solo band and the contributions of Phil Demmel. “He plays circles around me. He’s really, really f**king good, and he’s definitely more melodic than me. I’m far more archaic. But together, it works.”
While praising Demmel, King still wanted to showcase his own talents when it came to his concerts. “In the beginning, when I was trying to decide who would play what, I thought about what fans would expect me to play, because I didn’t want to let fans think I wasn’t thinking about them, or passing the buck because I’m doing something else.”
[RELATED: 4 Songs from Kerry King’s Debut Solo Album ‘From Hell I Rise’ That Slayer Fans Will Love]
Kerry King Wanted To Honor Punk
With King enjoying his time with Slayer, the musician admitted that he couldn’t fully explore his talent when part of the band. “Say, for instance, you’ve got a horse with blinders on – that was me in Slayer. Not completely blind, just looking straight forward. In my band, I’d say [the blinders] open five to seven percent – not a lot, but it’s a different perspective. You know, Slayer was this juggernaut. And people had an established opinion – as well as I – about what the songs should be, how they should sound, things like that.”
As for his new band, King cared little about fame and only wanted to honor the legacy of punk. “When I did this band, I was just looking to do an 80s tribute punk song. That was Two Fists. I wanted the riffs to be as if they were written by a punk band. There’s a big riff in the middle that I just had to throw in there, because I couldn’t do it without one. But I wanted the vocals to be presented that way too.”
While only announcing his solo band back in February 2024, King is ready to expand his career beyond his legacy with Slayer.
(Photo by Mariano Regidor/Redferns)
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