SLAYER's KING Says GRAMMY-Winning Track is 'One Of The Poorest Representations Of Us' On New CD

February 21, 2007

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King recently told Sean Piccoli of Sun-Sentinel.com that the group's song "Eyes of the Insane" — for which it recently won a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category — is "one of the poorest representations of us on the record," meaning SLAYER's 11th studio album, "Christ Illusion". He would have picked "Jihad" — like "Eyes", a track written by singer-bassist Tom Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman.

King also has doubts about how well members of the Grammys' parent organization, the Recording Academy, know his band's music.

"Realistically, I think people on the academy who vote pick the household name," he said. "And that's what we are."

With "Reign in Blood" songs such as "Necrophobic" — "Severing flesh/gouging eyes/tearing limb from limb" — SLAYER assured itself of a home in the dungeon of popular culture. "Christ Illusion" continues SLAYER's career-long attack on mainstream sensibilities and on one institution in particular: Christianity. "Skeleton Christ", written by King, declares, "I've seen the ways of God/I'll take the devil any day," and the King-penned "Cult" screams, "The bible's where it all began/Its propaganda sells despair/And spreads the virus everywhere."

For the record, "I consider myself an atheist," King said. But standing up for Satan as a way of questioning religious observance makes sense to him. The ruling class also comes in for heavy criticism. King calls the "Christ Illusion" track "Consfearacy" "a government-hating song" that he hopes anyone, regardless of country, displeased with the leadership will enjoy.

He says he doesn't vote or follow politics, and has no love for either U.S. political party. "And even if I was one or the other, probably I wouldn't come out and say it because I would alienate half the world," he said. "And I'm in the business of building fans."

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