KERRY KING Says Response To SLAYER's First Reunion Show Was 'Over The Top' And 'Overwhelming'

In a new interview with Brian Slagel, CEO of Metal Blade Records, for the recently launched "100 Songs That Define Heavy Metal" podcast, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King spoke about his debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", which came out in May via Reigning Phoenix Music. All material for the LP was written by the 60-year-old SLAYER guitarist, who was accompanied during the recording sessions by the rest of his solo band, consisting of drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER),bassist Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH),guitarist Phil Demmel (formerly of MACHINE HEAD) and Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL) on vocals. 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.

Asked what the response from the fans has been like so far to "From Hell I Rise", Kerry said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Killer, man. It feels to me like it's been out two years, but it's only been out six months. So it's odd for me when we go play because it seems to me like it's been out for so long, but kids are still getting used to it. Every show, more and more kids are singing it back at Mark and us, which is super cool. It means they're getting it and liking it."

Regarding how much of "From Hell I Rise" was written during the pandemic, Kerry said: "A lot. I was playing by myself for a long time before me and Paul felt comfortable enough to get together, travel. Me coming from the East Coast now, we still play in Southern Cal[ifornia]. So I've played a lot on my own. SLAYER's last tour was the end of November of '19, so by the end of the Super Bowl in 2020, I was full force working on new material, new ideas. And I did that for quite a while. I don't think Paul and I got together until 2021 to start working on this stuff. But at that point there was leftover stuff from [SLAYER's final album] 'Repentless'. Now there's leftover stuff from 'From Hell I Rise' for the next record and plus all I've written since then. But yeah, during COVID, Paul and I both came down with it and I think it was June of '21 and I was stuck in California at the hotel I stay in for rehearsals because I certainly wasn't gonna fly home and give it to my wife. But fortunately, mine lasted like three days. It was, like, it jumped in my body, got scared and jumped the fuck out. Paul had it off and on for the better part of a month. So it took us a while to get back to it. But that being said, I remember when I was in that hotel room stuck for a few days, I finished the last two lyrical songs I needed and then we were good to go."

King also talked about the SLAYER songs that he and his solo band chose to perform during their recent shows, including this past summer's run with LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON. He said: "I wanted to focus on things I had written or co-written because I didn't wanna fuel anybody's fire for ammunition that might hate my band and hate me or whatever. Those people do exist out there. So I'm, like, how can I do this the most straight-up way? So I'm, like, 'Nobody can pick on me if I play songs that I co-wrote or wrote,' so it started there. 'Raining Blood' has to be played, because if I'm playing one song throughout the history, it's kind of gotta be that one. And 'Black Magic' pairs really nice with it. Plus it's a killer song from our first record ever, so there's history there. And I wanted to definitely hit some nostalgia points because basically all the stuff we're playing is brand new K.K. [Kerry King] material, but to throw in stuff that people have liked for decades… And if we play a longer set, yeah, sure, then we'll play 'Disciple', then we'll play 'Chemical Warfare', we'll play 'Repentless', but we only had 40 minutes on [the LAMB OF GOD/MASTODON] run. So I think we played nine songs. So to have two from SLAYER, I think is a nice representation as well as playing a shit-ton of our new stuff."

Kerry also reflected on SLAYER's two reunion performances earlier this fall — on September 22 at the Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois and on October 10 at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California. Regarding how he felt going into the Riot Fest gig, King said: "It's kind of like when we did the first 'Big Four' show, I said, 'This is gonna be really cool for the fans, and it'll be good to see the guys.' And that's about all I gave it. But then we actually played the show and a handful more shows, and I said, 'You know what? This is really cool for me.' And I didn't expect that. And I didn't expect that when we did the Chicago show [SLAYER at Riot Fest]. I went with the exact same idea. I'm, like, 'This is gonna be really cool for the fans, especially fans that were too young to see us.' And I hit the stage and I got goosebumps. I'm, like, 'This is way bigger than I ever gave it credit for.' … [And] we've got a lot of history in Chicago too, so for the reunion show to be there, it was pretty epic. And the response was over the top. It was way overwhelming."

At Riot Fest and Aftershock, SLAYER ran through a 20-song set that included opener "South Of Heaven", "Seasons In The Abyss", "Angel Of Death", "Hell Awaits", "Raining Blood" and the title track of SLAYER's final album, "Repentless".

SLAYER was also scheduled to play at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky on September 27, but that performance was canceled due to severe weather.

The lineup for SLAYER's comeback was the same as the one which last toured in 2019: King and Bostaph, along with bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Gary Holt.