In a recent installment of the “Talk Louder” podcast, led by esteemed music journalist “Metal Dave” Glessner and seasoned hard rock/metal vocalist Jason McMaster (known for his work with DANGEROUS TOYS), Phil Demmel discussed his collaborative efforts with Kerry King in the SLAYER guitarist’s newly revealed solo venture.
Demmel said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “If there’s one thing that I know with [Kerry] is exactly where he stands and exactly what he’s feeling. He has his agenda, of course, but there’s no meandering around with the point he’s gonna try to get to, and there’s no steps being set up to…”
“[Kerry] gets this stigma of being a f**king a**hole or a f**king d*ck. And he’s not,” Phil continued. “He’s a nice dude. And he’s an empathetic dude. He’s a caring guy about stuff. It’s not like he’s this hardened d*ck and blah, blah, blah. There’s just not a filter there where [he just says], ‘No, I don’t like that, or ‘I can’t do this because’ blah, blah, blah. And it’s just straight-forward, man. And I wish people would kind of understand that about other people. It’s not him being a f**king… well, maybe it could be considered a d*ck, but that’s not his intent. He’s just, like, ‘I’m not f**king around. I’m not gonna bullsh*t you.'”
King will release 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.
According to King, the new music consists of “various religious topics, some war entries, heavy stuff, punky stuff, doomy stuff, and spooky stuff, with Herculean speeds achieved. If you’ve ever liked any SLAYER throughout any part of our history,” he adds, “there’s something on this record that you’ll get into, be it classic punk, fast punk, thrash, or just plain heavy metal!”
As King admits, “Even with a record in the can, I’ve still got so many songs that need to be finished. This is what I know how to do…number one being music, number two being metal. It’s been a part of my life for 40 years, and I’m nowhere near being done.”
