KERRY KING

THE HAMMER INTERVIEW

From helping to define thrash metal itself to riffing with, um, Sum 41, the guitarist has had quite the career. Does he miss playing with Slayer? Absolutely

WORDS: STEPHEN HILL • PICTURES: MARTIN HAUSLER

As the founding and most instantly recognisable member of now-defunct LA thrash legends Slayer, Kerry King spent 38 years conjuring up a seemingly endless supply of scalpel-sharp riffs. The most notorious of the Big 4, the band were unsurpassed in speed and downright viciousness, and 1986 classic Reign In Blood remains the high-water mark of thrash. It’s hard to imagine the state of extreme metal without its influence.

In 2018, Slayer took the surprise decision to go out on top and call it quits after a final arena tour, and Kerry’s been pretty quiet ever since – although we know there’s a solo project coming at some point. He reassures us it’ll be just as heavy. “If you know my work, you know what it’s going to sound like,” he chuckles, when we ask how it’s shaping up. But the void Slayer left has been gnawing at us for too long, so we asked him to reminisce on those amazing years. “The one thing I do have right now is time,” he tells us. “So, it’s good to be doing this again.”

From his upbringing, to the early years of thrash, to his emotions during that final run of Slayer shows, to his love of snakes, to, um… Sum 41, Kerry King has been on the wildest of rides.

What are your earliest memories of growing up?

“We lived 20 minutes south east from LA. It was a while away from the supershitty neighbourhoods, we didn’t have the very best place to live, but it was totally fine. It was pretty normal stuff, playing baseball, sports – this is all before music.”

When did you first become exposed to music?

“I had two sisters and the radio. I didn’t have older brothers pushing heavy music on me, I had whatever my sisters played, and you weren’t going to hear anything heavy on the radio. But there were rock channels that would play Van Halen all day.”