Slayer’s Kerry King is now touring with his new solo band named Kerry King. But in a recent interview, he admitted he never wanted his band to be named after him.
He shared with Sweden Rock that it was really hard to find a good name that wasn’t already taken. He ended up using his own name because they had to announce the band’s name for upcoming festivals:
“I hate it. [Laughs] Every time I came up with [a possible band name], it would get all the way to the trademark attorneys and they would say, ‘You don’t wanna do this.’ And I’d be, like, ‘Why? Can’t we buy it?’ If it’s just a little tiny company or something. And a couple of times it just had too many uses. And I said, ‘Well…’ It came time to announce those American festivals, and we had to go with something, so we went with my name. Never in a million years did I wanna do that. But here we are.”
Some of the names he thought of couldn’t be used because of trademark issues:
“Um, the earliest one was Blood Reign. The next one was King’s Reign, which I would have been okay with. And the band loved it. ‘Cause I kept trying to say, ‘I don’t wanna use my name. I don’t wanna use my name,’ ’cause I’m not a vain dude; I’m not like that. And that one got blown out of the water too.”
Kerry King started their European tour on June 3 in Tilburg, Netherlands, and their setlist includes both Slayer songs and new tracks from their debut album, ‘From Hell I Rise,’ which was released on May 17.
Taking The Stage As a Solo Act Feels Strange For Him
Kerry King said it feels strange to be on stage with his new band since he spent about 40 years with Slayer. Adjusting to performing with four people in the front was a challenge:
“A little fish out of water, like. We’re still feeling it out. I mean, I was in the same band for 40 years of my life, roughly, so other than Paul Bostaph being there, it’s new being around the other guys. I don’t mean it to sound weird, but just getting our feet wet, figuring out what to do with each other. I’ve never been on stage with four people in the front; there’s only been three. So, it’s logistical — knowing when to go to stage right, knowing when those guys come to stage left.”
All the songs on ‘From Hell I Rise’ were written by Kerry King. The band members include drummer Paul Bostaph, bassist Kyle Sanders, guitarist Phil Demmel, and vocalist Mark Osegueda. The album was recorded in Los Angeles at Henson Recording Studios and produced by Josh Wilbur.
Kerry King will soon join the Lamb of God and Mastodon tour, called ‘Ashes Of Leviathan.‘ This North American tour will start on July 19 in Grand Prairie, Texas, and end on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.
The full interview is below.