KERRY KING Names His Top Five Guitar Players Of All Time

During an appearance on the "Lipps Service With Scott Lipps" podcast, SLAYER's Kerry King was asked to pick his top five guitar players of all time. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I would have a hard time numbering them, but I can come up with five. [DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW's Ritchie] Blackmore, [BLACK SABBATH's] Tony Iommi, [VAN HALEN's] Eddie Van Halen, without question. Probably my favorite one all time is [JUDAS PRIEST's] Glenn Tipton. And I think he's the most overlooked. 'Cause if you look at the leads he was doing and when he was doing 'em, he kind of innovated a lot of that stuff. Okay, so who's five? I'll go with a super-heavy hitter that's my bro and say [PANTERA and OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY frontman] Zakk Wylde."

Back in 2015, King said that there was a distinct lack of guitar heroes in the hard rock and heavy metal scene, with many of the musicians at the time lacking the "vibe" that is needed to inspire others.

King, who co-founded SLAYER in 1981 with fellow guitarist Jeff Hanneman, bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo, told LA Weekly: "During the decade before SLAYER, and decade after, there were guitar heroes … Ted Nugent, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Dave Murray, Glenn Tipton, Tony Iommi. Later on, there was Yngwie Malmsteen. You had guys in the '90s like Zakk Wylde and Dimebag Darrell … people that you would aspire to be."

He continued: "We were at a festival in South America a few years ago and we were watching a video feed of the band that was playing onstage. I was watching the screen and I just did not get why this band was popular at all. I pulled [EXODUS and SLAYER guitarist] Gary Holt aside. I pointed at the screen, and asked him, 'Hey, Gary, would you aspire to be these guys?' He said, 'Not at all.' It was because they were the most boring and lethargic guitar players I had ever seen. I would never want to be these guys. I'm looking at a lot of these bands and it looks like it's the road crew soundchecking to me. There's no vibe. There's nothing that gives you aspirations to be awesome."

Kerry, whose out-of-key lead guitar playing was described by one fan as "hitting random notes really quick while destroying your whammy bar," told Music Radar in a 2009 interview that "there's nothing that says playing out of key is wrong. Of course, if you're thinking of what's traditionally accepted and bound by the 'rules of music,' you might disagree. But, to me, anything that sounds good is right. Or anything that sounds weird is right. Bend the rules."

He continued: "I never would have written some of my cooler riffs if I got all hung on what notes are in tune or what notes go together."

King added: "Bottom line: whenever somebody says 'You can't do that, because it's musically incorrect,' just give 'em the middle finger and say, 'Fuck it, I like it.'"

King's debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", was released in May. All material for the LP was written by the 60-year-old SLAYER guitarist. Helming the sessions at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles last year was producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BAD RELIGION, among others.

Joining Kerry in his new band are Mark Osegueda (vocals; DEATH ANGEL),Phil Demmel (guitar; MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE),Kyle Sanders (bass; HELLYEAH) and drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS).

Following his recent tour with LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON and his first European headline tour earlier this year, King and his new band will hit the road for the 28-date North American headline tour in early 2025. With MUNICIPAL WASTE as special guest and ALIEN WEAPONRY supporting, the tour is set to launch in San Francisco on January 15, 2025, and wrap at House of Blues in Las Vegas on February 22.

In early May, the KERRY KING band performed its first live show at Reggies in Chicago. In the days following, the band went from playing an intimate venue to performing at the huge U.S. festivals Welcome To Rockville (Florida) and Sonic Temple (Ohio).

KERRY KING launched a European tour on June 3 — King's 60th birthday – in Tilburg, The Netherlands. The trek combined headline shows in the U.K., The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain but also festival appearances such as Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Tuska, Download, Sweden Rock Festival and many more.

The SLAYER guitarist's solo band played its first concert as the support act for LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON on July 19 at the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas. The six-week "Ashes Of Leviathan" tour wrapped on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.