SLAYER's KERRY KING: 'When You Play With An Orchestra, You're Just Masturbating Yourself'

Heavy music presenter Christina Rowatt of Soundwave TV conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King and drummer Dave Lombardo on March 4, 2011 at the Melbourne stop of Australia's Soundwave traveling festival. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: Would you ever do some sort of crazy rock opera or anything really mental like that, or is that lame?

Kerry: "I think when you play with an orchestra, you're just masturbating yourself, and saying, 'We're king of the world. Let's go play with an orchestra.' Sorry, METALLICA, but, unfortunately, you did that. [Laughs] There's so many bands that do it just… It's just masturbation, man. It was good before that."

Q: How has [EXODUS guitarist] Gary [Holt] been to play with? (Holt is filling in for SLAYER founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who underwent emergency surgery on his right arm in January after contracting a serious infection, possibly caused by a spider bite.)

Dave: "He's amazing. He's been phenomenal. He's got the songs down, he's got the leads down. He's really tight. He stepped up."

Kerry: "He is awesome. I'm very, very excited. He was my first choice and he jumped right onboard and I don't know where I would go if I had to pick somebody else."

Q: If there was [a] "Big Five" [of 1980s thrash metal, alongside METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX], would EXODUS be the fifth wheel, the fifth hand?

Kerry: "That's hard to say, 'cause you've got TESTAMENT. A little less history, you've got MACHINE HEAD, who are just gigantic. I mean, I wouldn't call ourselves the 'Big Four' now. I think [the term 'Big Four'] is dated, because at the time we were the 'Big Four,' and now to say it… It's like, 'Well, what about these other bands?' And I'm like, 'I didn't make this up. I'm just part of it."