On May 9, American Musical Supply interviewed SLAYER guitarist Kerry King at this year’s Welcome To Rockville festival.
During the interview, King was asked if he plans to include more SLAYER songs in the upcoming live shows with his solo band.
“Well, no, ’cause these guys — I mean, me and Paul probably know most of it, but these other guys don’t,” King responded.” And I’m not gonna waste their time learning s**t that we may or may not play. In Chicago, we played five or six SLAYER songs and more of this band’s songs. Tonight [at Welcome To Rockville] we have a shorter set. There’s only two SLAYER songs. And I think we yanked a couple of the the K.K. songs too. We’re playing 50 minutes, so it’s probably 10 songs. The SLAYER ones, I’m only playing stuff I wrote or co-wrote. Will I play ‘Angel Of Death’ someday? Absolutely. Will I play ‘War Ensemble’ someday? Absolutely. But for this year, I don’t wanna give anybody ammunition to say, ‘Oh, he’s playing [late SLAYER guitarist] Jeff Hanneman‘s [songs].’ I’m not, ’cause I don’t wanna hear it. “
Kerry added that he might begin incorporating some cover songs into his band’s set as the tour continues.
“Covers, it’s in the mix,” he said. “My spin on it is I want to — I wanna throw in a cover every show, once we get used to it and being out, and I wanna play stuff that people can’t see or hear anymore, like say for instance, ‘Ace Of Spades’. You’re never gonna see MOTÖRHEAD again. So, I think that’s cool to do. Or for instance, songs that bands don’t play anymore, like ‘Killers’ from IRON MAIDEN. I don’t think they’re ever gonna play that again. I don’t think METALLICA is ever gonna play ‘Damage, Inc.’ again. So I wanna do things that actually aren’t just me having fun. I want it to be fun for the fans to where they see it, it’s the only place they can see it.”
In a recent Metal Hammer Q&A, King emphasized his disinterest in performing tracks solely penned by Jeff Hanneman to avoid any perception of exploiting SLAYER‘s legacy for profit.
He said: “For this coming summer in Europe we’re gonna do like nine or 10 tracks from the album and depending on set length fill it with stuff I’ve done – something I wrote in SLAYER or co-wrote.
“So nobody can say ‘he’s playing Jeff songs!’ because although I love Jeff songs and he was such a big part of my life, I don’t want to rely on it this year, this album cycle. At some point, I will play ‘Angel Of Death’ but there’s so many f**king faceless haters on the internet I don’t want to give them ammunition.”
King released his debut solo album, From Hell I Rise, on May 17. In addition to King, the album features DEATH ANGEL vocalist Mark Osegueda, longtime SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph, former HELLYEAH bassist Kyle Sanders, and ex–MACHINE HEAD and ex-VIO-LENCE guitarist Phil Demmel.
This month, the band performed their first live show, totally sold out, at Reggies in Chicago. The concert was described as “dark, packed, and exceptionally loud,” everything you could ask for at such a landmark show as this one… a truly once in a lifetime experience. In the days following, the band went from playing an intimate venue to performing at the huge US festivals Welcome to Rockville (FL) and Sonic temple (OH), treating the audience to an incredible experience of pure metal firepower.
Now the band is ready to embark on a European tour that will start on June 3rd – on Kerry King‘s birthday: “Can’t wait to be back in Europe and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday. Let’s f**king rage!”.
The tour will combine headline shows in the UK, The Netherlands and Germany, and also festival appearances such as Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Tuska, Graspop, Download, Sweden Rock Festival & many more!
KERRY KING EUROPEAN TOUR DATES:
Due to logistical issues, the European tour will now conclude on 29th June. Refunds for the cancelled shows are available from the point of purchase.
03.06.2024 NL Tilburg – 013
04.06.2024 NL Enschede – Hertog Jan Zaal
06.06.2024 SE Sölvesborg – Sweden Rock Festival
07.06.2024 DE Nürburgring – Rock am Ring
08.06.2024 PL Gdańsk – Mystic Festival
09.06.2024 DE Nuremberg – Rock im Park
11.06.2024 DE Hamburg – Große Freiheit 36
12.06.2024 DE Berlin – Huxleys Neue Welt
13.06.2024 AT Nickelsdorf – Nova Rock
15.06.2024 CZ Hradec Králové , Rock For People
16.06.2024 UK Derby – Download Festival
18.06.2024 UK London – Electric Ballroom
20.06.2024 BE Dessel – Graspop Metal Meeting
21.06.2024 DK Copenhagen – Copenhell
22.06.2024 FI Nummijärvi, Nummirock Metal Festival
26.06.2024 ES Viveiro – Resurrection Fest
27.06.2024 FR Clisson – Hellfest
28.06.2024 FI Helsinki – Tuska
29.06.2024 PT Lisbon – Evil Live Festival, Altice Arena
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.