SLAYER with MEGADETH and TESTAMENT at the Molson Amphitheatre (909 Lake Shore West), tonight (Thursday, July 29), 6:40 pm. $26.25-$73.25. 416-870-8000. Sold out.
Though Slayer have hinted that they might hang up their guitars following tours in support of 2009’s successful World Painted Blood (American), we might actually see some new material. And soon.
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“We’re touring till December and then picking up again at the end of January, but I got song titles and riffs bouncing around in my head,” says guitarist Kerry King from his southern California home. “During any sort of downtime is when we might look to record new stuff.”
The controversial, sometimes satanic lyrics shouted by Tom Araya above King’s and Jeff Hanneman’s blazing fretboard work and Dave Lombardo’s pummelling double-bass drums are the product of three twisted minds at work.
“Everyone’s got a songwriting specialty,” explains King. “Jeff’s big-time into war, Tom’s into serial killers, whereas I’m into more horror-oriented stuff. It’s cool that we have different perspectives. Otherwise, we’d just write about one thing.”
The gruesome content extends to their cover art. Artist Larry Carroll was behind 1986’s Reign In Blood, 1988’s South Of Heaven, 1990’s Seasons In The Abyss and 2006’s Christ Illusion.
“He’s got a very skewed outlook on humanity,” laughs King, “so he was a perfect match for us.”
That the Huntington Park, California, band has had run-ins with reactionary Christian groups should come as no surprise. But King says that’s nothing compared to a certain other American shock rocker.
“We’ve done a couple of tours with Marilyn Manson, and people are still picketing his shows. It’s like, ‘Really? He’s not even writing that crazy shit any more. Are you still mad about Antichrist Superstar? That was 14 years ago!’
“If someone tells me there are people picketing our show, my response is, ‘Go out there with a camera and see what silly things they have to say.’?”
So after 30 years of adding critically acclaimed albums to the thrash metal canon and pushing the genre to greater extremes, does King remember a time when the band worried about their chances of success?
“We were kids when we found success, so we didn’t care. If we failed, we could do something else. Luckily, we got to make our first record, and there’s been no looking back.”
Interview Clips
On the Elyse Pahler case:
Kerry King’s Personal favourite albums:
His greatest live moments:
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