Kerry King
Kerry King (born
June 3 1964 in
Los Angeles,
California) is best known for his work as a
guitarist in the band
Slayer.
Over the years, Kerry King's guitar style has remained the same, giving him a very distinctive sound. On earlier Slayer albums up to and including
South of Heaven his playing focused more on speed and chaos than melody. However, in his post-
Seasons In The Abyss work, Kerry has managed to capture more feel to his guitar work, showcasing more diverse and melodic styles. Aside from his strong rhythm work, he is also recognised for his distinctive and unique lead guitar work which critics disparage with definitions such as: 'grab the guitar neck and hang from the whammy bar as if your life depends on it'. However, despite such criticisms, it must be noted that King almost singlehandedly created an entirely new style of guitar soloing, and his influence is prevalent in countless metal bands, particularly
thrash and
death metal bands, where
diatonicism is less important than in traditional rock and metal.
His lyrics are mostly based on
Satanic subjects, which he attributes to his love of
horror movies. Though many fans regard him as being a
Satanist, he regards these people as "dumb". He has stated he does not believe in God, so he does not believe in Satan, but he writes about Satanic subjects because he says it is more fun to sing about Satan than God. He actually dislikes all organized religion (Christianity and Satanism included) and describes it as a "crutch" for people who are "too weak to get through life on their own" [
1].
King uses
Marshall JCM800s, along with his own
B.C. Rich signature guitar, the
KKV.In addition to appearing on Slayer's albums, he has also made guest appearances as lead guitarist, including:
*"No Sleep Till Brooklyn", from the
Beastie Boys album
Licensed to Ill He also had a guest appearance in the video for the song "Fight For Your Right To Party"
*"Final Prayer", from the
Hatebreed album
Perseverance*"Dead Girl Superstar", from the
Rob Zombie album
The Sinister Urge*"Goddamn Electric", from the
Pantera album
Reinventing The Steel*"What We're All About (The Original Version)", by
Sum 41 from the
Spider-Man movie soundtrack*"Disorder", with rapper
Ice-T from the 1992 album "Judgment Night"
He also spent a short while as a guitarist in
Megadeth, although this was only a temporary arrangement. There is a long-standing, mutual animosity toward Megadeth frontman
Dave Mustaine. His friendship with
Machine Head frontman
Robb Flynn also deteriorated after Kerry labeled Machine Head a "sellout" band with "no integrity, no credibility". Robb claims that he has since approached Kerry to reconcile their friendship, but Kerry was oblivious. [
2]
Like most heavy metal musicians, King had long hair, but then shaved his head when he started balding. His bald head, spiked wristband, and extensive
tattoo work (which covers his hands, arms and head) are his
trademarks.
Kerry is currently married to his third wife. He has a daughter, Shayanne, with one of his ex-wives.
Kerry is a long time and noted
herpetoculturist and snake breeder who is known to pop up at Southern California reptile events and pet shops with little notice. In 2005 he participated in a chat discussion online with both music and snake fans at the popular online reptile community kingsnake.com where he discussed both his involvement with Slayer and his interest in reptiles.
*
Slayer discography*
KFK industries*
kingsnake.com chat transcript
