In a recent interview with Australia’s Spotlight Report, Kerry King opened up about the unexpected announcement of Slayer’s reunion for select festival appearances this year—and the ripple effect it had on his solo band. Reflecting on the situation, King admitted that his solo project members were sort of blindsided by the news, a misstep he acknowledged as a learning moment.
“I never had to do that before, I never had to tell somebody else what I was gonna do, but when the Slayer shows got announced, I hadn’t told anybody in my solo band, ’cause it never occurred to me — it never occurred to me to tell them. ‘Cause it was nothing to me,” King said.
To avoid misinterpretation, King quickly clarified that his reaction didn’t stem from indifference toward Slayer’s brief reunion. “I don’t mean it to sound that way. But I know it’s not gonna be a thing. Like, Slayer’s not gonna record. Slayer’s not gonna go on tour. But everybody in my band didn’t know that, and they all got blindsided. (Laughs) I’m, like, ‘Listen, guys. That’s my bad. I’ve never been in this situation.”
King assured his bandmates that the Slayer reunion wouldn’t disrupt the momentum of his solo efforts: “So I told them all, I said, ‘Listen, man, we’re gonna keep recording. Slayer’s never gonna do another record. If we do a couple of shows here, a couple of shows there, it’s not gonna interfere with anything we’re doing.'”
At 60, King seems content navigating life beyond Slayer, crediting his current band – vocalist Mark Osegueda, drummer Paul Bostaph, guitarist Phil Demmel, and bassist Kyle Sanders – for making this new chapter fulfilling.
“Life after Slayer is good. I like where we’re at. Everybody in the band has a great time on stage, has a great presence on stage. And when the show’s over, we all hang in the dressing room or on the bus, whatever it may be, and have a drink, if everybody feels like staying up, and it’s just super chill.”
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