In a recent chat with Metal Hammer, Kerry King picked a band that might replace Slayer in the Big Four.
“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,” the guitarist said.
King added, “Beyond that, well, the other three of the Big Four still play. Maybe I’ll be a bro and let Lamb of God take our spot up there with Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth.”
Lamb of God toured with Slayer several times. They played together on the 2006 Unholy Alliance Tour and during Slayer’s farewell tour in 2018-2019. Lamb of God was the only band to support Slayer on every part of that final tour.
King’s new solo band is now joining as the support act for Lamb of God’s Ashes of Leviathan tour. The band’s frontman Randy Blythe previously talked about it, saying, “We have a long-term friendship with Kerry and the Slayer guys. Of course, now it’s him and [Slayer drummer Paul] Bostaph [who are involved in King’s solo band].”
Blythe continued, “We’re friends with everyone in his band, and it’s pretty cool, I think, that he’s gonna be coming out. I believe this is gonna be the first tour he’s gonna be doing. I know he’s doing some festivals maybe before that, I think, but this is gonna be the first tour, to my knowledge. So we’re pretty stoked on that.”
“It speaks to the character of Kerry King, a legend in this game. [I have the] utmost respect [for him],” Lamb of God’s guitarist Mark Morton also told Heavy Consequence last month. “[He was] part of some of the greatest metal songs in history. Slayer [was] absolutely formative in my understanding and my love for metal. And Slayer has taken Lamb of God out on multiple occasions, Mastodon out on multiple occasions, at some point together.”
Lamb of God’s tour with Mastodon started on July 19 in Grand Prairie, TX, and will end in Omaha, Nebraska on August 31.