Watch: KERRY KING Pays Tribute To PAUL DI'ANNO With Cover Of IRON MAIDEN's 'Killers' At Sydney, Melbourne Shows

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King and his solo band paid tribute to former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno by playing a cover of the MAIDEN classic "Killers" during their concerts on Tuesday (December 3) at Roundhouse in Sydney, Australia and earlier tonight (Wednesday, December 4) at Northcote Theatre in Melbourne, Australia. Fan-filmed video of both performances can be seen below.

Di'Anno, whose real name was Paul Andrews, passed away on October 21 at his home in Salisbury at the age of 66.

An official statement shared to Di'Anno's Facebook page on November 11 with permission from the late musician's family revealed that his cause of death was caused by a "tear in the sac around the heart."

Earlier this year, King was asked by Riff X's "Metal XS" if he had heard MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson's latest solo album, "The Mandrake Project". He responded: "[I] haven't heard Bruce's new album, but I have a friend who told me it's better than MAIDEN. [It] wouldn't surprise me. Nothing against MAIDEN, but their songs have gotten so long, man, I just can't be bothered with it. And my attention span isn't that much."

Kerry was seemingly referencing MAIDEN's latest two double-albums, 2015's "The Book Of Souls" and 2021's "Senjutsu", the former of which contains the song "Empire Of The Clouds" clocking in at 18 minutes, and three songs on "Senjutsu" running for over 10 minutes.

Earlier this year, King told American Musical Supply that he would possibly start including some cover songs in his band's set as the band's tour progressed. "Covers, it's in the mix," he said. "My spin on it is I want to — I wanna throw in a cover every show, once we get used to it and being out, and I wanna play stuff that people can't see or hear anymore, like say for instance, 'Ace Of Spades'. You're never gonna see MOTÖRHEAD again. So, I think that's cool to do. Or for instance, songs that bands don't play anymore, like 'Killers' from IRON MAIDEN. I don't think they're ever gonna play that again. I don't think METALLICA is ever gonna play 'Damage, Inc.' again. So I wanna do things that actually aren't just me having fun. I want it to be fun for the fans to where they see it, it's the only place they can see it."

Kerry's debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", was released in May via Reigning Phoenix Music. All material for the LP was written by the 60-year-old SLAYER guitarist. 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.

King's solo band also includes drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER) on drums, Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH) on bass, Phil Demmel (formerly of MACHINE HEAD) on guitar and Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL) on vocals.

King and his new band will hit the road for the 28-date North American headline tour in early 2025. With MUNICIPAL WASTE as special guest and ALIEN WEAPONRY supporting, the tour is set to launch in San Francisco on January 15, 2025, and wrap at House of Blues in Las Vegas on February 22.

Image credit: Pics from the pit