Slayer: An Interview With Kerry King

Slayer: An Interview With Kerry King

By Erin Broadley
Aug 9, 2007

Back in 1984 Slayer and other metal mainstays Venom and Exodus hit the road on what was dubbed the Combat Tour. According to band legend, one drunken night on the tour bus, Slayer frontman Tom Araya -- just a tempestuous twentysomething -- stumbled down the hallway looking for a place to take a leak. Venom vocalist Cronos joked that the bathroom was right there, in his mouth. Araya proceeded to whip it out and piss all over Cronos' hair. Sure, Cronos left Araya with a shiner but it's all part of what makes Slayer, well, fucking Slayer.

After more than 20 years and 13 albums, the thrash-metal titans are still going strong and with the release of "Christ Illusion" in 2006, some say Slayer is better than ever. Not only is "Christ Illusion" the first album in 15 years with the original lineup -- Araya (vocals/bass), Kerry King (guitar), Jeff Hanneman (guitar) and Dave Lombardo (drums) -- but it also managed to earn the band a Grammy, proving you never know what to expect from these California natives.

SuicideGirls caught up with metal legend Kerry King to chat about the "Christ Illusion Special Limited Edition" (out now), the band's summer tour with Marilyn Manson, and the joys of breeding snakes...

Erin Broadley: So Slayer just released a special edition of Christ Illusion, which is the first album you guys have put out with Dave Lombardo on drums in over a decade. How is it to have the original lineup back together again?
Kerry King: Well, we’ve been touring with Dave since ’02 so to us it’s old news, but for fans it’s cool because it’s the first thing he’s gotten to stay on since the ’90s. I think for the kids still, it’s like the gift that keeps on giving. Slayer putting out a new album with Lombardo for the first time since 1990, you know, it’s like Christmas every day.
EB:
Right. How did the shows go in Europe?
KK:
Cool.
EB:
Those were not with Manson, correct?
KK:
Just a couple. We played together in Switzerland and I actually held up bus call so I could go check out his show because I hadn’t seen Manson play in years. So I went on stage. Actually one of our old guitar techs is working for Manson, so I went up for the first five songs and hung out in guitar world and got to see what it was about. So looking forward to it, looking forward to having my first drink of Absinthe in a month next week [laughs].
EB:
Yeah. One of our writers interviewed Manson a few weeks back and he said that he has to drink Absinthe every day because if he doesn’t, he’ll melt.
KK:
I know, it’s the strangest thing, man! I remember when we met he did a photo session for Revolver. He brings out these three cups of Absinthe.
EB:
Oh man.
KK:
He’s like, “I’m drinking, who’s in?” I was like, “Oh, we’re going to get along fine.”
EB:
I thought when you drink Absinthe, that’s when you’re supposed to feel like you’re going to melt -- not the other way around.
KK:
It doesn’t do anything to me. Either that or I’m not drinking enough of it. Manson mixes it with water. I’m like, “Why are you mixing it with water man? Drink that shit straight.” I guess if he’d been doing it all day maybe he needed to put water into it [laughs].
EB:
Do you have a favorite bottle you carry around with you like that?
KK:
Well, I generally don’t drink before we play. I think of the fans first.
EB:
For sure.
KK:
I’m sure there’ll be a moment or two where me and Manson will light it up before we both play. When we did that show in Switzerland it was like that. I know a lot of people on his crew so it was like, “Come do a fucking shot before we go on stage.” So we did. For me, I usually drink whatever vodka flavor of the month I’m on. You know, we’ve always got Jägermeister backstage.
EB:
When you and I first met at an Ozzfest press conference a couple years back, you made me do shots of Jäger with you.
KK:
[Laughs] Imagine that…
EB:
Wasn’t it only noon? You were like, “Dude, come on” and I said, “No I hate black licorice.” But you insisted so I thought, “Well fuck, who’s going to turn down shots of Jäger with Kerry King?”
KK:
Yeah, it’s good [laughs].
EB:
Well, getting back to the tour you guys are doing with Manson, during Manson said that with this tour you guys are “bringing Satan back.” I’d have to argue that when it comes to representing the evil in rock and roll, I don’t think it ever really went away. What do you think?
KK:
No, I don’t think it went away. Something he probably didn’t bring up, which rings a bell with me, is that it seems like more and more people are coming around to our way of thinking. I’m not saying everybody’s going to be Satanists, but for me it’s like questioning what you’re told. I think a lot of people don’t just sit and think, “Oh yeah, go to church on Sunday…Jesus is good. Jesus is great.” I think people say, “Well, why is Jesus good? Why is Jesus great? I’ve never seen the guy. How do I know this is real?” I think people are questioning the norm more than they did 15 years ago.
EB:
Well, I always say that if there is a God, the only reason he rested on the seventh day was because he was fuckin' hung over.
KK:
[Laughs] Yeah.
EB:
Do you see Slayer’s music providing any answers for those people who are “questioning the norm”?
KK:
Well, the way I write 90 percent of the time is to throw up issues but not give a definitive opinion. I mean, to me the opposite would be Rage Against the Machine. Zack has an agenda. He makes sure everybody knows it and he wants you all on board. I don’t like to do that because I think some of our fans are still too impressionable and they’ll just believe it because you tell them to.
EB:
Right, and then you’re kind of being the same thing you’re preaching against.
KK:
Yeah. Like, when I say, “Religion is hate” -- I mean that’s a definitive statement, that’s what it is to me.
EB:
When it comes to your fan base, do you find that there are a lot of new recruits still coming on board?
KK:
Oh, absolutely. In the last five years I’ve seen more kids than I did when we were coming up. [Slayer] has definitely jumped generations and it’s really cool to be able to do that. There’s no formula, there’s no recipe. I guess you just stay relative long enough to where older brothers or parents hand it down and say, “I’m so into this, I want you to dig it.”
EB:
Slayer, entertainment for the whole family.
KK:
Hopefully the kids aren’t going to rebel and say, “Well I hate it because you like it.”
EB:
You’ve mentioned before the importance of integrity to the band. Do you find that a lot of other metal bands out there are lacking integrity?
KK:
Well there’s a revolving door as to who’s playing in a lot of bands. So there’s no question mark there. We never made questionable records where you thought, “Well, I wonder what Slayer is going to be playing when they come to town this time.” You know, it’s just like you know what’s coming to town. You know what’s going to be happening. You know you’re going to have a good time. You know people are going to be talking about it for the next few weeks. It’s as close to a guarantee, I think, as anything out there.
EB:
You guy’s won a Grammy this year for the song off Christ Illusion called “Eyes of the Insane.” That must have been a pretty surreal experience.
KK:
Actually I was on tour and I had a day off that day and I was at the gym when that went down. I came back from the gym and I had all these texts on my phone. I’m like, “Well, either something really good or something really bad happened” [laughs].
EB:
Yeah, either someone died or I won a Grammy.
KK:
All the congrats and when I came back to earth and went to the bar later and people could get a hold of me, they were like “Oh, congrats.” Whatever, you know, I don’t really care. The same day I won “Man of the Year” through Metal Hammer’s reader’s poll. That means more to me because the fans voted for it.
EB:
Right, right.
KK:
I think people in the Academy you know, I think as far as metal goes, they have no idea. That just told me we’re a household name. I think they probably picked it because it was [also a] video. I think if you were to ask them, “What’s the other nine songs on the record?” they would have no idea.
EB:
Where’s your Grammy? Is it in the house?
KK:
Yeah, we’re moving right now so I left it in the box. I’ll definitely display it. I’ve got two Metal Hammer Golden God awards. I’ve got two Kerrang! awards. I’ll have a little award shelf and they’ll be more prominent. I’ll probably have that one in back and the Golden God ones in the front.
EB:
How is the snake breeding going?
KK:
I only had one batch this year because I was touring and didn’t pay enough attention. But next year I stand to have 23 clutches of eggs, which could be upwards of 400 animals, you know. That’s going to be huge.
EB:
It’s fascinating.
KK:
I know people have had them, like Alice Cooper has had them and Slash had them, but it’s technically a secondary business for me.
EB:
You know as much about snakes as you do about playing guitar.
KK:
Oh yeah, there are people in the snake world that know me for my line of reptiles have no idea that I even touch a guitar.
EB:
How long have you been doing it?
KK:
I got my first [snake] in ’84. Right after our first big tour and I peaked in the late ’90s. I probably had just under 400 animals of my own. Then I realized it was taking too much time away from Slayer and I sold everything. I got back into it about four years ago on a much smaller scale. I still realize that Slayer pays the bills and I need to pay most time to that because I can breed snakes forever and I can’t play in Slayer forever.
EB:
Well hey, you’re a smart man, you’ve got a back up.
KK:
Yeah, I mean it took me a while to prioritize but now I’ve got it all right.
EB:
And you know, it’s convenient that the two go hand in hand -- being a snake breeder and being in a band. They’re both pretty badass professions.
KK:
Yeah, totally, once I actually get my website up next year. If there’s a Slayer fan that’s going to buy a snake he’s going to come to my site because he’s going to want a Kerry King snake. Even if 5,000 other people have the same reptile he’s going to buy it from me.
EB:
[Laughs] Hey, well don’t tell Gene Simmons or else he’ll start a snake business. He’ll be like, “That is a great idea. I am a businessman. I’m going to start a KISS snake farm.”
KK:
Yeah, he’ll buy me out [laughs].
EB:
Right. With Christ Illusion, there was a bit of a debacle last year where you guys felt a little bit dissed when Rick Rubin chose to produce Metallica’s record instead of yours. What was the story behind that whole thing?
KK:
That’s probably as much of it as I know. I didn’t delve into it at all. You know, once it was done it was done. I didn’t really care. All I’ve got to say is you know, I want Metallica to succeed as much as anybody because I would love to be a fan again. But now that I’ve got Christ Illusion out, they’ve got something to step over.
EB:
Will you guys still work with Rick in the future?
KK:
He had his hand on this record. He didn’t do full production but he had his hand in it mixing and stuff like that. If he wanted to do the next record, yeah he’d have a shot at it. I don’t dislike the guy for it or anything. But I think Josh Abraham did a good job on this record so I’d be more than happy to work with him again too.
EB:
Right. What’s the difference between Christ Illusion and the special edition?
KK:
We’re on Sony now. Sony wanted to re-release the record and have, you know, their own stamp on it so it’s got the song we didn’t finish – it’s got “Final Six” on it. It’s got the video for “Eyes of the Insane.” It’s got some behind the scenes video from Australia and Florida, I believe, just some fan stuff. Everything on there is pretty fun. I’ll watch it. If I was a fan I’d dig this.
EB:
I have a quote here from Tom where he talks about the references to death in Slayer’s music. He says, “I think it’s just a common thread in general: we all share death, and we all share it at different times in different ways, but it’s the one thing that we all have in common. We all die. It’s how we live that makes us different.” I thought that was a pretty good way to sum it up. What would you say? What about the life you and the band have lived has made you different, especially amongst your metal peers?
KK:
Well, we make up a mean riff [laughs]. It could be something that simple and easy. If I don’t come up with anything better, use that [laughs]! Yeah, you know, I think from the beginning we were lucky enough not to have to not be ourselves to be popular. Before we got our first record deal, we went out and played. We didn’t care if anybody liked us. We liked it. It was awesome and people came around to us. I think that also speaks for longevity. We never had to make believe we were somebody we weren’t. So, we made stuff up we loved. We made up stuff we believed in. We made stuff up we were fans of. I’m still a fan of the genre. I’m still a metal kid. You’ll always find me at Anaheim House of Blues if there’s a metal show in town. I think it all just revolves around itself.
EB:
That brings up another question: Playing in this band for 26 years and being a fan of metal obviously longer than that, have you ever come to a point where you’ve felt disenchanted? Have you ever felt like you started to lose touch with being a fan first and foremost?
KK:
The funny thing is, we were just in Europe. We played somewhere in Holland at a festival and Heaven and Hell opened for Slayer. That was weird for me.
EB:
Wow.
KK:
Yeah, that was weird to me. After the show Tony Iommi was knocking on the door and I’m like [laughs], “Stop knocking on my fucking door and get your ass in here! Don’t ever do that again!”
EB:
Like, “Mr. King can I come in?”
KK:
Yeah [laughs].
EB:
What are Slayer’s plans for the rest of the year?
KK:
The Manson tour is it. Then I’m off for football season. So don’t call me on Sunday.
EB:
Is being home for football a requirement?
KK:
No, this is the first football season I’ve been off for years. Usually I’m in Europe and can’t see shit! The last two years I was in European tours and I missed most of the season.
EB:
Who’s your team?
KK:
Raiders.
EB:
Nice.
KK:
Gotta be the bad guys.
EB:
That, and they have a pretty badass color scheme going on.
KK:
You know what, if Al Davis ever kicks the bucket the coolest thing the Raiders could do would be the monochromatic uniforms like all the other teams are doing. They could be all black. Or they could be all silver like little trophies [laughs].
EB:
[Laughs] Anybody else in the band a football fan?
KK:
Yeah, Jeff’s into it -- he’s a Raiders fan too. He used to wear Wheatly’s jersey offstage. He’s copying my ass because in ’94 I wore Biletnikoff for two years [laughs].
EB:
How dare he.
KK:
Yeah. It’s my idea.
EB:
It’s funny; during the Manson interview he said that he hates watching sports, he reuses to watch them and he doesn’t want to be around anyone who does.
KK:
[Laughs] Hey Manson, get in here, you’re watching this.
EB:
I know, right? You just thought it was a coincidence that you got to go home for football season but maybe in reality he scheduled it to pull the plug before the jerseys come out.
KK:
[Laughs] Yup.
EB:
You guys are taking the stage before Manson but you’re excited because now you get to relax and hang out after your set, right?
KK:
I know. We never ever get to play except last. So people say “Isn’t that weird?” And we’re like, “No, that’s really cool.” Yeah, Manson will be onstage and I’ll be drunk already.
EB:
To wrap things up, I know that you’re a big lover of horror movies. What was the last good one you saw?
KK:
1408. I saw that when I got back from Europe. It’s pretty cool, man. You’re watching this movie and you’re like, “This is fucking wrong.” Just mentally, “What the fuck is going on with this thing?” It was cool. It was mental.
EB:
Alright, well thanks for your time.
KK:
Hopefully we’ll see you in Irvine.
EB:
Hopefully.
15 Comments PRINT
Email this Interview

YOUR NAME:

YOUR EMAIL:

THEIR NAME:

THEIR EMAIL: