MARK OSEGUEDA On Singing SLAYER Songs With KERRY KING: 'I'm Very Confident That I Can Do TOM ARAYA Justice'

In a new interview with Marko Syrjala of Metal-Rules.com, DEATH ANGEL singer Mark Osegueda was asked about the feedback from fans to him joining Kerry King's solo band, especially the diehard SLAYER fans. He responded: "The feedback since we've been touring has been absolutely incredible. A lot of people who have the record actually prefer the live performance, and it's made them appreciate the record even more. Of course, many have seen us live and noticed our progression because we're a relatively new band. How we work together and play off each other on stage has improved leaps and bounds over the last few weeks. So, when we're up there, we're like a machine, and we're killing it. The fan reaction has been absolutely incredible.

"I've talked to many of the diehard SLAYER fans, and they've said, 'We didn't know what to expect, but you're doing those SLAYER songs justice,'" he continued. "That's the main goal for me — obviously, to pull off what we did on the record live. But I know there are always going to be naysayers when it comes to SLAYER's material. When we perform live, you can see some of their faces gradually change by the end, and they're, like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.' To me, that's a huge compliment."

Asked if it is technically challenging for him to sing the old SLAYER material, Mark said: "I love to do it. I love singing Tom's [Araya, SLAYER bassist/vocalist] stuff. I say that because I'm a SLAYER fan, plain and simple. I think Tom has an iconic voice, one that I've always liked and respected. When I perform those songs, I try to do him justice. I'm very confident that I can do him justice. The most difficult part tends to be the phrasing, especially when he does the fast bits. There's some rapid-fire delivery in those songs, and that's probably the most challenging aspect. But range-wise, I think we're pretty similar, though maybe some of my highs reflect younger Tom. I love doing it, for sure. As I said, I just try to do my best for the SLAYER legacy and the fans who love SLAYER."

The setlist for the King's solo shows usually includes two or three SLAYER tracks as well as several of the 13 songs that appear on King's debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", which came out on May 17 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

In a recent interview with Metal Hammer magazine, King stated about the setlist for his solo band's shows: "[We're doing] like nine or 10 tracks from the ['From Hell I Rise'] album and, depending on set length, fill[ing] it with stuff I've done — something I wrote in SLAYER or co-wrote. So nobody can say 'he's playing Jeff [Hanneman, late SLAYER guitarist] songs,' because although I love Jeff songs and he was such a big part of my life, I don't want to rely on it this year, this album cycle. At some point, I will play 'Angel Of Death', but there's so many fucking faceless haters on the Internet, I don't want to give them ammunition."

All material for "From Hell I Rise" 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 Osegueda, drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER),bassist Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH) and guitarist Phil Demmel (formerly of MACHINE HEAD). 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.

In an interview with Glide Magazine, King said that he liked the "similarity between Tom and Mark," but he clarified that "that's not why I picked Mark. I just picked Mark because, you know, number one, he's my friend. Number two, lots of people call him the best singer in thrash metal. And, you know, he's definitely in there. But he came in, he was hungry, and wanted to do it. And I knew his performance would add to the product."

Regarding the setlist for King's solo concerts, Kerry said: "Well, it depends on the set. Like this [summer 2024 tour] with LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON, we're playing nine total songs. In that set, we played two SLAYER songs. We've done as many as seven, I believe, when we were headlining some places in Europe. But first and foremost, either songs I wrote or co-wrote. And I had to think of, historically, what people are into. The first one is 'Raining Blood' because everybody wants to hear that. The second one on my list was 'Disciple', because the chorus is so — the fans want to chant that. It's really cool to be on stage and see thousands of people screaming, 'God hates us all.' I love it! I did 'Hate Worldwide' because I like that song a lot. That's a guilty pleasure. I did 'Repentless' because it's the title track of the last album we put out. We were doing 'Chemical Warfare', we were doing 'At Dawn They Sleep'. They're classics. And I think the other one we did was 'Black Magic'. When we go into that after 'Raining Blood', people, once they figure out what it is, they're blown away that we're playing that song. Which I love. I love to be able to surprise people."