"If myself and Dave Mustaine could have co-existed, Megadeth would have been a very different band." Kerry King on riffs, venomous housepets and which bands he'd join given the chance
When the King issues a summons, you can't refuse. That's how Hammer find ourselves in the basement – or should that be dungeon? – of Freizeitheim Castle in Germany, face-to-face with thrash metal legend Kerry King.
But while the gibbets, iron maidens and torture racks have (presumably) been shifted out in favour of massive Marshall stacks so King can play his solo debut, From Hell I Rise , at infernal volumes, the threat of some mild maiming is enough to get the thrash legend to answer your questions. After all, if he doesn't, we might have to get medieval on his ass...
What is your favourite riff from your solo record? Erix1987, Instagram
"Oh man, that's tough because I did all of 'em! I love the guitar break in Idle Hands, the first song we released. The riff before the leads that comes in towards the end, it's a good place to start."
What were you looking for when it came to assembling the solo band? Raquel Finch, email
"First and foremost, that they could all play! Mark [Osegueda, vocals] has one of the best voices in metal, but the thing that mattered to me most was getting friends and not having to worry about egos or drama. We're all too old for that shit. So getting friends together who all had that same drive to make music, and at the end of the day when we're done playing onstage and get on the bus, we can have a drink and chill. We're all at a stage in our lives where we don't need that shit – I don't have time for it."
Hammer: Is it easier working with people like Paul [Bostaph, drums], who you've already got a longstanding relationship with?
"Well, I first met Paul when he tried out for Slayer ahead of Divine Intervention in the 90s, but I'd actually heard his playing on the Forbidden albums and had kinda wrote him off! It wasn't anything out of the ordinary to me, but I had a guitar tech who was like, 'You need to check out Paul Bostaph again.' I went back and listened to him again and realised he wasn't doing anything wrong, they just weren't using him a lot. He came in to audition, and as soon as he finished playing, I knew he was the guy. He just stomped everyone's guts out, fucking crushed it. I was very impressed."
What would be your dream package tour for the new band? OnlyMusicAllTheTime, Instagram
"That's difficult. I've already played with everybody I wanted to! I wouldn't say Pantera, because it's not Pantera anymore – there's a lot of opinions on that, but I won't go into it any more than that. What I think would be really cool to be part of – but it'll never happen – would be to play with Deep Purple. The real Deep Purple with [Ian] Gillan and [Ritchie] Blackmore. So fucking amazing, that band. I'd even take [David] Coverdale if I had to! I'm such a fucking huge fan of that band. Beyond that... I've kinda gotta go with old-school people that don't exist anymore, like Van Halen. How cool would that be? Playing with Eddie!"
Who would be the Big 4 of metal now? Mighty-Morphin Matthew Wilson, Facebook
"Wouldn't it still be the same? Ha! I don't really know enough about 21st-century metal to speak too authoritatively on that, but I'd obviously pick Lamb Of God , who we're playing a bunch of shows with. Beyond that, well, the other three of the Big 4 still play. Maybe I'll be a bro and let Lamb Of God take our spot up there with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth."
Who would play you in a biopic of your life? Adz_Keen, Instagram
"The only one that loosely fits the description is Vin Diesel. If you go down that road you might also say The Rock, but I'm not nearly that giant! That would be awesome, though – I'll say The Rock, because I like a lot of the stuff he's in."
Would you ever write a ballad? Vlado Kristinak, Facebook
"I guess I haven't, have I? Any time we ever got close to writing something you could call a ballad, it'd turn into a scary song! When The Stillness Comes kinda fits, but it takes a turn with those spooky lyrics. I don't have any intention to, not for any reason other than it was very overdone in the 80s, the first time. Don't Testament have one literally called The Ballad? 'Nuff said! There's billions more, but they called theirs that, so it's all covered."
How long were you playing before you found your sound and style? Zlengaush31, Instagram
"Style came before sound, I think. You work on sound for a while but you won't find it until you have it. I mean, I started playing when I was 13 and our first record came out when I was 19, but my style was still evolving on that first record or two. Sound and style I'd say were really locked in around Reign In Blood – even today, I still sound the same as that."
Would you rather fight 50 rat-sized horses or one horse-sized rat? Ikdmusician, Instagram
"Fuck! That's cool! I guess one horsesized rat, because there's only one mouth to contend with. That's my answer – I'm going purely on numbers."
Do you own any venomous snakes? Kslayer56, Twitter
"I don't have any snakes anymore. And I never had any venomous snakes, I made that rule first and foremost. If I got bit by a venomous snake, my guitar playing could be over and that's what pays the bills. I was so conscious of that on day one, so wouldn't have venomous reptiles in the house."
If you could have been in any other band, who would you pick? Attitudecult.666, Instagram
"I was almost in Megadeth. I think if myself and Dave Mustaine could have co-existed for four years, it would have been a very different band. I'm not saying I'd have made them better – I'd have made them different. It's funny, I was backstage at Mercyful Fate's show in Las Vegas and got talking to [guitarist] Hank Shermann, and said to him, 'I thought you guys might come knocking', and you could see his head explode. 'It never fucking occurred to me!' I'm a huge Mercyful Fate fan so I'd have done that in a heartbeat.
I'd also love to play with Judas Priest – that brief second where Richie [Faulkner] got sick and they suggested going out with one player, I thought if they called me and said, 'Can you be that one guitarist?', I honestly don't think I could, because they're such a dual guitar band. Thankfully they never did it, but if they'd have asked, I think it would have been the hardest 'no' of my life!"
When was the last time you had to do a regular day job and what was it? Mark_Heelis, Instagram
"I think I was, like, 17 or 18. I think it was a pet store – it was actually around '88 or '89 and I didn't need the job, but when Slayer weren't working I'd go pull a shift there. The last job I had to work was when I was at my parents', at a mini-golf place, believe it or not. They'd get me in to clean out the holes that were flooded, fixing pinball games... any odd job I could fake my way through."
Do you like punk or was that more Jeff's thing? Eldricht Cymerianski, Facebook
"Oh absolutely! Jeff brought that to all of us, but I ran with it. There's two songs on this record that are directly punk influenced – Two Fists, which I wrote to sound like an 80s West Coast punk song, and Everything I Hate About You is more thrashy punk. I tried to touch on all my influences on this record, I wanted to incorporate it all."
What is your favourite riff written by Jeff Hanneman? Dehumaneyez, Instagram
"That's difficult. I have to say Raining Blood. It's not just one riff in that song, but a whole showcase. If you pushed me, I'd say the intro too, as people still sing along to that guitar line."
Do you think the US will ever have an atheist president? Graham Holloway, Facebook
"I don't think so. Middle America makes up too much of the vote and they love Jesus a lot."
What's the hardest song you have ever played?
"I could go a number of ways with that, but I'll say Dittohead for the sheer speed of it. That's probably our fastest song, and it's not one I'm looking to play live any time soon!"
Another record next year? Amy Pearson, email
"It depends how long the tour takes! I will be prepared to record next year, but depending how long the tour cycle is... that's a grey area."
