SLAYER Guitarist: 'We Worked Hard To Get Here, And No One Is Gonna Take It Away From Me!'
February 9, 2007Shawn Jam Hill of The Ottawa Citizen recently conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:
On the band's 25-year career:
"I enjoy my longevity. SLAYER has cultivated this sh--, there is no image. I put my leathers on, put my nails on (King's signature Metal God wrist gauntlet),put the chains on and go for it. This is me at the grocery store!"
On the band's latest CD, "Christ Illusion":
"We haven't made a record with [Dave] Lombardo in 16 years. We don't try to outdo ourselves. Each song is a different story, we're making cool SLAYER tunes (about) war in general, serial killer stuff. 'Flesh Storm' is about watching some buddy's guts flying by, generic war stuff that doesn't pinpoint dates."
On the subject of being old school:
"When we started, we didn't care what anybody thought. America had no MOTÖRHEAD, I thought we were good. Nothing in my mind comes close to fail."
On how SLAYER was affected by the grunge explosion in the early 1990s:
"Grunge took hair metal right out of the equation, and metal became more favorable. Fads come and go. People will get tired of GODSMACK and DISTURBED and they'll come down SLAYER road. I love to play and the fans have put as much effort into SLAYER as we have. Every night is total devastation."
On SLAYER's enduring popularity:
"This is my job, the only answer for at least the next five years."
On the band's ages:
"Um, [Jeff] Hanneman is 43 today. I told him I'd do a shot with him after the show, like that's any different than usual." (Wikipedia says King is 42 and Tom Araya 45.)
On the business end of things:
"Record companies have no f---in' idea, SLAYER will always sell what we sell. I rarely have a drink before the show. We owe it to the fans who pay to see us play."
On religion:
"I'm not religious. I'm an atheist. It's cool to be into God, that's America's nature, but they aren't happy until you convert. You agree with me or you don't."
On SLAYER retaining supremacy through brutality:
"This is my mountain. We worked hard to get here, and no one is gonna take it away from me!"
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