SLAYER's KERRY KING: 'People Are Usually Scared Of Me'

Cameron Edney of Australia's Loud magazine recently conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Loud: Congratulations are certainly in order. You have once again been nominated for a Grammy award. You must be pleased to be in the running once again?

Kerry: It's becoming old news [laughs]. When it's all said and done, I might be, but I'm not a big believer in the "metal section" of what the Grammys are about. I think it's an afterthought and it's a little bit retarded.

Loud: Over the years you've had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many amazing artists. While on the road who's given you the best advice and what was it?

Kerry: I don't know… people are usually scared of me [laughs]. I really don't think any of my idols really gave me advice cause when I met them I'd already been touring for ten years. The thing for me was getting over my fan hang-up for some of my heroes, like the PRIEST guys and SABBATH. Tony Iommi was the last one. I finally got over the hump; he's the nicest dude ever but it's fuckin' Tony Iommi! What am I going to say to him? I think advice was just hands on for me. Every year you find out something you didn't know and you incorporate that into how you live on the road.

Loud: Since the album's release there's been a lot of speculation that this could be the last SLAYER album we hear, from misquoted interviews we heard these could be SLAYER's last shows. Do you see the band returning to the studio anytime soon to make another album?

Kerry: I'm in the middle of about four months off and I recently got a couple of new guitars, so that always inspires me to pick up and do something. We haven't talked about it but everyone's into doing another one… it seems like it. I want to make some use of my time off and make up something hopefully for a SLAYER record. SLAYER's record contract is up so we either re-sign with American or look for someone else.

Loud: With so many years of writing and recording under your belt, as time goes on, does it become more difficult or easier to put yourself into that mind-set for writing for a new album?

Kerry: I think the mindset's easy but I also think it's difficult, 'cause since the last time you've had to make up songs, you've already made thirteen more. Every time you make up stuff its cool to sound like yourself but you can't sound like things you've done in the past ideally, that's the difficult part.

Loud: I would imagine having recorded so many albums now that trying to find that fine line could be one hell of a gruelling process!

Kerry: Yeah, but I think that's why people are liked. That's why we like AC/DC, that's why people like us. They're not the exact same albums, but it sounds like us, it sounds like AC/DC That's why you get a fan base, 'cause people feel they know what you're going to put out and know it's not going to suck!

Loud: SLAYER is a band that's really stuck to the roots of the thrash genre. You never really strayed away like some bands have done over the years. What's the secret to the band's longevity? These days we're lucky to see a band stay together for two to three years. Why do you think SLAYER have outlasted so many other artists?

Kerry: Well, the front three people never changed and I think that's important. You've gotta have a nucleus of people where you never wonder who is going to be on-stage. As far as a band thing I think that's important. I don't mean that as a shot on MEGADETH but at the end of the day MEGADETH is Dave Mustaine and that's it. It's whoever Dave decides to play with on this record. Could you imagine watching SLAYER without me, Jeff [Hannemann] or Tom [Araya]? It just couldn't happen! That's something to be said there, 'cause we're all irreplaceable. The last few years I've noticed people in bands are almost interchangeable. I've seen some of my friends stay home because their wives were going to have a baby and they'd have somebody replace them when they play live, and I think… how can you fuckin' do that?

Read the entire interview from Loud magazine.