Kerry King on Slayer Reunion: “Don’t Get Used to This Being a Yearly Event”
What Slayer giveth, Slayer taketh away. This past February, the thrash gods announced their reunion only five years after announcing their retirement. Some fans started to hope that the breakup was just a blip and these reunion shows would mark a return to business as usual, maybe even a new tour and an album. That’s apparently not the case at all, as Kerry King told everyone not to get too excited about Slayer’s future. This won’t be a regular thing.
Here’s what King had to say in the interview with Classic Rock History:
“It’s not really much different at all. It’s the same heads, same cabs, same pedals, same guitars. You know, there will be a lot of fire when Slayer plays, and I think, yeah, those shows will just be fun. It’ll be fun to play with Gary Holt for a few gigs; I haven’t seen him in almost five years, so that will be cool. And it’ll be cool to get together with Tom Araya and spit some hate out at people, but don’t get used to this being a yearly event.”
Of course, keep in mind, King also told Rolling Stone that a Slayer reunion was unlikely only two weeks before the announcement of the first Slayer reunion show. Here’s what he had to say back then when asked if Slayer was completely done and if he would make another Slayer album:
“I can pretty much a hundred percent say no because I have a new outlet, and it’s not Slayer, but it sounds like Slayer. I’m making the music I like to make still, so I don’t need to do that. Records don’t sell anymore anyway. It’s just a means to have a product out so people know what I’m playing when I come to town.
“Will Slayer tour again? I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen. Could Slayer play a show again? I’m sure there’s a scenario. Am I looking for it? No, I’m just getting ready to start my career. So if that happens, it happens. But I’m going to be doing this for the next 10 years at least.”
So right now, it doesn’t seem like King is down with a full tour, but we’ll see what he feels like doing in a few more weeks or months. For now, you can only catch them at the following three festivals and then, who knows?
Sep 20-22 – Chicago, IL – Riot Fest
Sep 27 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life
Oct 10 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock
