KERRY KING Names MOTÖRHEAD, IRON MAIDEN And METALLICA Classics He Might Cover With His Solo Band

On May 9, American Musical Supply conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King at this year's Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked about the differences in the musical direction of his solo band compared to that of SLAYER, Kerry said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's certainly similar. A lot of things I've been asked in the press is, 'How do you feel to be compared to SLAYER? You're gonna be compared to SLAYER your entire career.' I'm, like, yeah, well, I was in SLAYER. I think that's pretty cool. I'd rather be compared to myself than somebody I don't like. And in a nutshell, I think, say for instance, I had horse blinders on when I was in SLAYER, I think for this project, maybe they opened five percent — not a lot. But like the punk song on the [debut KERRY KING] album ['From Hell I Rise'], 'Two Fists', I probably wouldn't have done it on a SLAYER album, but punk is one of my influences and this album's all about my influences, so I felt comfortable doing that and putting that on there."

Speaking about the first live performance from his solo band, which took place on May 7 at Reggies in Chicago, Illinois, Kerry said: "I watched some of the Chicago show last night and today, and it's better than I remembered it. [Laughs] I came right out of the gate and just [fucked] up. Right out of the gate. I got the first chord right, and then there was a count-off, and I played something else. But luckily you can't hear it on the recording. No one in the crowd knew, 'cause they don't know that song yet. I bought myself a week [until the album release]."

Asked if he is planning on adding more SLAYER songs to the upcoming live shows from his solo band, which also includes drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER),bassist Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH),guitarist Phil Demmel (formerly of MACHINE HEAD) and Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL) on vocals, Kerry said: "Well, no, 'cause these guys — I mean, me and Paul probably know most of it, but these other guys don't. And I'm not gonna waste their time learning shit 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 went on to say is that he may start including some cover songs in his band's set as the tour progresses. "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."

"From Hell I Rise" was released on May 17 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

The KERRY KING will embark on a European tour that will start on June 3 — on King's 60th birthday. The trek will combine 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.

All material for "From Hell I Rise" was written by the 59-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.

KERRY KING will be special guest on the upcoming LAMB OF GOD/MASTODON North American "Ashes Of Leviathan" co-headline tour. The six-week run will launch on July 19 in Grand Prairie, Texas and will wrap on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.