MARK OSEGUEDA Explains Why Term 'Supergroup' Doesn't Apply To KERRY KING's New Band

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King has launched the sixth in a series of interview videos to promote his recently released debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise". Check it out below.

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).

Asked about the term "supergroup" as it relates to King's solo band, Osegueda said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think [that term has] been overused, and for this band, I don't feel it's that. I think Kerry knew what he wanted on his record, and he knew what he wanted it to sound like, and he basically handpicked the people that he thought could do it. Sure, we all have pedigrees for being in other bands, but it's just because we're good at our craft and we take it seriously. And we also all get along really well, so that helps. And when you're living on a bus for weeks or months at a time, you wanna be surrounded by people that you enjoy their company, but you also wanna respect how good they are at what they do. And there's definitely a mutual respect between all of us for what we do. And we do get along well. So I don't think 'supergroup' applies to this. I think it's a group that just brings it."

Regarding how he got involved with Kerry's new band, Mark said: "I wanted the gig when I knew it was put out that Kerry was putting together a band. And when SLAYER said they were calling it quits, Kerry made it very well known right off the bat that he wasn't done. And I sent him a random text one time, I cold texted him that 'I know that you're putting together a project. I just wanna let you know that I'm very interested in this. I'm throwing my hat, or hat-slash-throat, into the circle.'"

On the topic of his vocal approach on "From Hell I Rise", Mark said: "I came in with confidence. I have to say, I came in with confidence. And I had to. And I wanted to deliver original vocal performances, and let it be known that this record's gonna be the best record it could be, vocally, for me. And I know people didn't know what to expect, 'cause people started getting inklings of who else was in the band. And vocals were like a big, big secret kind of thing. And when I came in, I wanted to make him confident that he picked the right guy. He picked the right guy. And my approach to this was just aggressive and intense. And also I know live we're gonna be doing probably some SLAYER songs. Is that daunting to me? It's not. It's not. Because I love the band so much. And I know people will be critical about it, but I'm also confident enough that I will do those songs justice. I will definitely do them justice, to say the least. So, I think when people see this, when they hear this whole album, it's gonna have its own identity, for sure. And when we get out there live, the energy's gonna be undeniable. And I'm confident that everyone in this band is gonna make it a live force to be reckoned with."

Kerry told Rolling Stone about Osegueda's addition to the band: "With Mark, he was on board early on. I just didn't pull that trigger. I was like, 'Let's see what happens.' Say for instance, [JUDAS PRIEST's] Rob Halford calls me and says, 'Hey, I would love to be your singer,' I'd have to go that way."

King also confirmed that PANTERA's Philip Anselmo was "considered" as a possible singer for his new project. "My management, my promoter, my record label all wanted Phil," Kerry said. "Phil's a good friend of mine, but I always thought he's not the right guy. That has nothing to do with his ability; I just knew he wasn't the right guy. When you hear Mark on this record, you know that's the guy.

"I had to do due diligence, because at the end of the day, had Philip been the guy, we'd be in arenas immediately because we could play new stuff, we could play PANTERA, we could play SLAYER, and fans would've been happy. It ended when the PANTERA thing came up.

"I saw Mark a few years back singing covers of MINOR THREAT and cameo in THE WEDDING BAND with members of METALLICA," King added. "It was different from what he does in DEATH ANGEL, and he sounded great. He's super versatile. He took steps to make this different than DEATH ANGEL. I don't touch on probably 50 percent of what he can do on the album.

"Mark knew how I expected the songs to be performed. On my demos, I sing with very good conviction, but I don't have pipes; that's why I don't sing. With 'Residue', he sounded so good I had to ask him, 'Is this sustainable? I don't want you to blow your load on this record and then blow your voice out every third show.' And he swore up and down he could do it. He went on to some of the harder ones and did the same thing on those, so I went, 'Okay.'"

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 will wrap on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.

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.

"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.