SLAYER

Midwest Metal: This past week your 2006 release ‘Christ Illusion’ was re-issued and I have to say it’s a killer looking re-issue. How does the album sound to you one year down the line?

Kerry King: I really haven’t heard the whole thing in quite awhile, other than to pick up on a song or two for the start of this tour. But for the most part it’s held up great! We’re still playing three songs off of it on this current tour and since we began back in June of 06 we’ve done a total of five new ones. So we’re playing them and people are singing along to them like they do the older stuff.

Is that the usual weighing in on new stuff, if you’re still playing them in the set?

Yes and no, I mean some of these songs are really, really old as we had a long time to work on this record. Some of these are from 2003 from when we originally started to write.

When you look at your and Slayer’s career, do you look at it as one big chunk or are you good are breaking down the years or eras?

Well let’s say I’m signing an autograph and someone has an old picture of me. I can look at it and kind of reminisce when it was taken, I can tell depending on what guitar I was playing or the shirt I was wearing. But other than that it’s basically been one lump of shit (laughs)!!

A lot of your interviews are based on longevity, especially the current rounds. Do you ever think about the end?

Yeah, absolutely. We’re a lot closer to it now than we were twenty years ago.

OK so what does a Kerry King do when it’s over? Do you move into producing music? Do you use your twenty plus years of knowledge as a manager/mentor type?

I have a lot of friends in the business so I could essentially do something like that. But I would imagine when Slayer hangs it up I’m just going, well if a friend asks me to co-produce a record I may consider it, but I wouldn’t be involved musically. So seeing as this is all years away I could also easily change my mind about it too, so we’ll see.

You guys just started the Marilyn Manson tour, over the years do you have a favorite tour you’ve done?

The Extreme Steel Tour of 2001, the last Pantera tour they ever did. We did get to do some touring with Damageplan during the Summer of 2004, so we got to enjoy Dime in Damageplan as well.

Is Dime’s passing something that still freaks you out? Not just the passing of the individual but always in the way it happened.

Not really. Even when I heard it happened I figured it was some dude with a vendetta against him, not like it was open season on Metal guitarists. Obviously everyone stepped it up as far as security immediately after, but since then it’s not like it got lax, it’s just remained a higher standard.

Did you go through a “what the fuck”, “what the fuck am I doing out here, is it all worth it” type of thoughts?

The thing that stuck out in my mind that day was he was the nicest dude on the planet, you know? So to where I have enemies, he probably had none…I’ve pissed people off in my career(laughs), I don’t think he pissed anyone off and look what happened.

True, I don’t think the “what the fuck” factor will ever go away.

I agree. I was just at the Rock Walk induction when he got his plaque put up at the Guitar Center in Hollywood.

How was that for you?

Oh, it was awesome. It was a tear jerker, but it was awesome. I got up and spoke, Scott Ian spoke, (Jerry) Cantrell, Nick Bowcott from Marshall, Vince spoke a little bit, their Dad spoke. Zakk (Wylde-duh) played “In This River” and said a few words.

You used the word “enemies” a minute ago and recently you buried the hatchet with Robb Flynn from Machine Head. Was this something that you looked at like “fuck, you know we’re not promised tomorrow, let bygones be bygones type of thing? Just move forward?

Nah, that’s not my style, I mean if I have a problem with you, I have a problem with you. With that one, when that whole thing went down I essentially blackballed him and his band for, like ten years. And one day it was like enough is enough you guys are making killer records and if I ever want to have a tour with them I want to be able to talk with them (laughs). That new record [The Blackening] is kick ass.

Cool, back to your favorite band Slayer…The time between ‘God Hates Us All’ and ‘Christ Illusion’ was some of the best marketing for Slayer I’ve ever seen. For instance, those years there was no new music, there were two DVD’s, the box set, things like that. However each time you came through there was a great reason (other than the band itself) to go see Slayer. There was the “Dave’s back” tour, the ‘Reign In Blood’ show, the “Raining Blood” show so on and so forth. Do you ever find yourself impressed that this “little band from Orange County” is still so fucking marketable and viable some 25 years later?

Yeah, true we always came back through with something to see, something different behind us. We did the Jagermeister tours and yeah the box set. But I’ll tell ya this even if we came back with no new product I’d make damn sure we’re playing different songs. I always want the person who may be spending his or her last dollar on a ticket to be able to go home with something to be happy about. The show we did this last winter with Unearth was different than the [Summer 06] Unholy Alliance and the one were currently doing is different than the both of those.

I know this is a cliché question, but how hard is it to come up with a set list these days?

Well this set is so short, that’s what makes it hard for us. Even if we’re just playing an hour and a half it’s still difficult. I usually bring out a song and take it around the World then it goes away for six or seven years. We were playing “Show No Mercy” and I know we haven’t done that in like twenty years.

I know I was jacked to hear “Silent Scream” on the Unholy tour.

Yeah that was one we took around the World and now it’s gone.

Do you hear the criticisms from the people who bitch and moan about a Slayer set list?

I don’t pay one bit of attention to anything like that, no. We’re playing stuff that I’ve heard so many people wanting us to play that we haven’t. We’re playing one song that we haven’t played in seventeen years since Dave left [“Ghosts of War” is what I’m thinking he’s talking about-Tom] . There’s another song that we haven’t played since Dave got back so we’re hitting some fun tunes for sure.

Do you run into a song that you absolutely have to have in the set yet are getting resistance from the other three guys? Maybe it happens for each of you?

That’s more of a me and Jeff thing…because if he’s got one that I know he hates and I’m into, I’ll run it by him. So if he’s still down on it I’ll usually just say “whatever” you know? But I’ll usually try to get him to rehearse it because it may have a totally different vibe that what he remembers or vice versa. I’m the same way though, I have songs that I’ll straight out tell him “I hate that fucking song” or maybe it’s just boring to play live, something like that.

You’ve been playing “Mandatory Suicide” every tour since 1988, can you ever see “retiring” that song?

Well even if we were to “retire” it, it would only be for a tour or two. However that one is a mainstay. This tour’s “retiree’s” are “Dead Skin Mask” and “Season In The Abyss” and I think we’ve played “Dead Skin Mask” since the dawn of time (laughs)! That song will definitely come back but there’s nothing wrong with letting it stay home for a bit (laughs).

What do you feel the ultimate strength of Slayer is and has been all these years? Is it just the music? Is it the personalities? I mean you’re not pulling a Mustaine and playing musical chairs and getting chance after chance by releasing weak records and then coming close to getting it right.

Well since you touched on it, yeah there some bands that when you go see them you never know who’s going to be on stage. When you come see Slayer you know you’re going to see Tom, Jeff and Kerry and as far as I know you’re going to see Dave too. I mean when you go see Priest those front dudes never changed, ever. A band like AC/DC, pretty much the same thing.

It’s been a long time since there was a proper live Slayer album. Yeah there’s been DVD’s, but are there any plans to document a Slayer show in the near future?

Hard to say, I don’t think we’ve talked about that, either us or management. Not a bad idea, but it seems like live DVD’s have taken over the live album market, with the 5.1 sound and all.

Speaking of, how do you look back at both the ‘War At The Warfield’ and “Still Reigning” DVDs?

I haven’t watched either in forever, but I liked them when they came out…that’s my life so you’ll never really see me popping those in (laughs)! I mean if I have friends over who’ve never seen one or the other I may throw it on for them to check out.

Was it weird for you especially on the ‘War…’ DVD, I mean Dave had been back in the band at that point…

Yeah, he was back in the band when that came out and we were like “we should really be doing something with Dave”, that was our thinking. So that’s where the ‘Still Reigning’ DVD comes in, but to release one DVD and then a year later release another DVD, yeah that was a little strange. But at that point that ‘War…’ had come out Dave was just doing the fill-in thing and that continued as he got totally into it and stuck around and I hope that’s the way it continues until we’re done.

Speaking of DVD’s, could you ever see Slayer doing something as personal as ‘Some Kind of Monster’, a really in-depth look at the band?

No Way! I’ve never watched it, I will never watch it.

What I’m getting at it where the mystery? Where’s the band/fan divide? Do you think people just know too fucking much these days? From album sales to concert attendance to personal shit?? Where does it end?

Yeah, well that’s the internet for you. I do think people probably know too much but it’s not something I can sit and dwell on.

What about the record sales, I mean if a Slayer record comes out and doesn’t exactly set the world on fire, then bam..does your credibility take a hit.

I know what you mean, but it’s already happened. Record sales these days are shit, people download them and give them to friends and that’s just how it is, there’s nothing I can do about it no matter how much I talk about it. The only way to gauge things these days is to tour and if there’s 8-10,000 people there and everyone knows all your stuff, we’ll I guess something is working.

How much of a Slayer collector are you?

Oh I’ve got everything!

Do you do the eBay thing or is at all private collector stuff?

No, no, no…I’ve got all sorts of stuff, from recent shit to the first write up’s from the first album. Tour posters, bootlegs you name it.

What do you do with all of it, is it on display in a room at your house or…

Some of the tour posters are framed and up but most of it, I’ve got like seven of the biggest Rubbermaid storage things just filled with all of it. The Gold records go up.

Does that ever freak you out, I mean not only does Slayer have Gold records you’ve earned, but you’ve got a fucking Grammy!

(laughs) yeah that’s kinda weird. We’ll see what happens with the Grammy’s next year, see if they totally fuck it up, I mean these are the same people who gave it to Jethro Tull (laughs)!! But I know I’ll probably never get another Gold record for anything because that’s just how things go these days. But when I first got them, I value that time because I know I earned them.

Did I imagine this or did I read you weren’t exactly thrilled with “Eyes of the Insane” being the track chosen?

Well last time we were nominated the song was “Disciple” which to me, totally represents Slayer. “Eyes of the Insane” is like MTV Slayer (laughs)!

You’ve been doing this for, like I said earlier over 25 years. Do you still have goals?

I think that rather than a goal I think the thing would be to maintain your status. Don’t ever put yourself in the position where your fans look at you different. Don’t be Michael Vick (laughs)!!

Have you had a chance to see the ‘Get Thrashed!’ film?

No, not yet, is it out??

It’s doing the film festivals, but I think next year for sure. Any way in the movie you talk about Trouble getting booed at the Aragon…

The Aragon rules!

How ‘bout it. But you talk about that show from 1988, I remember it vividly. Why don’t bands get “SLAYER’D” these days? I kinda miss it.

Yeah he (Barry Stern- R.I.P.) fucked up, I was like “man, you gotta shut up” (laughs). But as far as bands not getting booed…back then I think the Thrash movement was like the tightest brotherhood of fans. It wasn’t just us, I mean if you were an opener and you didn’t hold a candle to who they were there to see you were going to hear about it. But it still happens now and then, those Jagermeister tours…they’d put some pretty fucking questionable bands up on stage and they’d get fucking roared off.

I remember friends telling me that Testament got booed and “SLAYER’D” at L’Amour years and years ago.

Oh dude, fucking New York was brutal, just fucking brutal. They were always very pro-Slayer (laughs)!

Do you see the lack of insanity as a sign of the times or is it just the multi generations of fans?

Definitely, there’s just so many different age groups coming out and it’s bigger than ever. People are a little more open to check out different bands, not as good as it is in Europe with the festivals…

Yeah well they get 80,000 people out for the weekend, something is working!

80,000 people living in tents (laughs)!

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