Kerry King: “I Don’t Think Slayer Are Ever Going to Play Again”
Will they or won’t they ever play live again? Following the conclusion of their farewell tour in 2019, the question is likely to dog the members of Slayer until they die. While the answer remains unclear (they will! of course! because money!), this much is clear: the last hold-out will be Tom Araya, the one member said to be most bullish on shutting the Slayer ship down.
Kerry King recently said Slayer “quit too early.” Gary Holt agreed. But the way King worded a response to a recent interview question lends credence to the theory that he’s not the one who ultimately decides if Slayer will play again.
Speaking to Metal Hammer, King was asked if Slayer would perform if they had the opportunity to do another Big 4 show (the question wasn’t out of left field; they’d already been talking about prior Big 4 shows). His response:
“I would! But the way that I’m moving forward is I don’t think Slayer are ever going to play again. There’s no business of me playing by myself! Ha ha!”
“I would.” “The way that I’m moving forward is…” “There’s no business of me playing by myself.” Though King was short with his words, those words are telling: he’d do it if he could. But he can’t because he doesn’t call the shots.
Meanwhile, remember how Slayer’s manager, as the band’s farewell tour approached its last date, said that the band would continue even without touring? That hasn’t happened yet. I wonder if it still will. And what that even means.
Tune in to this space again all throughout 2022 for more in “will they or won’t they,” the Slayer edition.
King, meanwhile, has been working on a yet-to-be-publicly-christened new outfit that is heavily rumored to also include Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo and Exodus guitarist Gary Holt. Former Testament/Exodus drummer Paul Bostaph — who, like Holt, was a member of Slayer’s final line-up — has already confirmed his involvement. Gossip about the project first began to circulate almost two years ago, and King has said he has two albums’ worth of material ready to go, but the pandemic delayed their plans.
