In a recent interview with Nikki Blakk from San Francisco Bay Area’s 107.7 The Bone radio station, Kerry King was asked about the rehearsals he and his SLAYER bandmates are planning ahead of their first reunion concert at Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois, on September 22.
“I saw the e-mail today. I think it’s six [or] seven days. But full stage rehearsal — everything. ‘Cause we haven’t played in five years,” King said.
When asked about the location of the rehearsals, Kerry responded: “It’s a private facility. I don’t know much about it. It’s in Nowheresville, Pennsylvania, and I’m gonna be f**king stranded for a week. [Laughs] But we’ll be burning s**t every day [with pyrotechnics], so I’ll be excited for a little bit.”
When Blakk mentioned that Kerry wants to ensure he doesn’t miss the pyro cues after all these years, King responded: “Yeah. And there’ll be different ones. There’s some things you’ve seen before, things you haven’t seen before. It’s definitely the biggest SLAYER show that I’ve ever seen on paper.”
As for what the setlist for upcoming shows, Kerry said: “I think I’ve already got it. It’s tough. I worked on it — I probably made, like, three or four different ones before I landed on the one that I sent to everybody.”
After concluding their last world tour in November 2019, SLAYER, featuring Tom Araya (bass, vocals), Kerry King (guitar), Gary Holt (guitar), and Paul Bostaph (drums), will headline three prominent festivals, Riot Fest, Louder Than Life and Aftershock Festival, marking their first live appearances since then.
In a recent interview with Metal Injection, King said that he doesn’t rule out the possibility of more SLAYER shows in the future beyond the three festival appearances scheduled for this summer and fall.
“I’m trying to be real and definitely say, hey, we’re not gonna tour again,” he said. “And we’re certainly not gonna record again, ’cause I have a means of doing that now with my band. [We’re doing] three shows for now. And I say ‘for now’ because I know Europe’s gonna come knocking, ‘Hey, man, you guys played America. Come see us.’ So it wouldn’t surprise me if something like that happened, but it’s certainly not on my books right now.”
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.