Former SLAYER guitarist Kerry King revealed in 2021 that he has more than two records’ worth of music written for the as-yet-unnamed band. Speaking to Metal Hammer, he says that fans of his old band won’t be disappointed when it comes to the new music.
“You know me, so you know what it’s going to sound like,” King tells Metal Hammer. “I played this new song for a buddy, and I said to him, ‘If there’s anything I’ve written in the last few years that sounds like SLAYER, it’s this.’ And he said, ‘That sounds like you could have pulled it off of any SLAYERr record.’ I actually made that riff up backstage at a SLAYER show. We were walking to the stage and I got my phone out and recorded it so I wouldn’t forget it.”
While King is continuing to keep most of the details close to the vest, he does reveal that SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph is a part of the project.
“We just started rehearsing and the only person I can give away is Paul because I took him from SLAYER and we work very well together,” King shares. “We didn’t start rehearsing until the end of March, and that was the first time since that last SLAYER show at the end of 2019 that me and Paul finally got into a room together.”
King also talked about his desire to play live, suggesting he originally planned to tour with the new project before the pandemic.
“Had it have been up to me then I’d have been out in 2020,” he says. “But that thing called the pandemic fucked everything up for everyone. You know, I waited on that, because it had to run its course. I didn’t want to be the guinea pig, I didn’t want to learn how to tour again. I already did my dues; I don’t want to have to prove myself again.
Have I been dragging my feet? Yeah, because I wanted this (pandemic) shit to get sorted. I won’t be dragging my feet much longer.”
As for the shows themselves, Kings says fans should expect them to be a lot more scaled-back than SLAYER’s final shows.
“I’d like nothing more than to bring out a huge production, but like I’ve told everybody, ‘Don’t expect SLAYER (sized) venues.’ Unless people grasp onto it immediately, we’re gonna start in a much smaller scenario. But if I could keep anything from SLAYER, it’s the fire. That’s the one thing that’s moved with me.”
Source: LOUDER
