Kerry King wanted his solo band’s lead singer to be similar to Tom Araya.
In a new interview with Glide Magazine, the guitarist was asked if he considered using a vocalist with a death growl style to make the music heavier vocally. He replied by saying:
“Absolutely not. No, it’s not my style. I like the similarity between Tom and Mark, you know, and that’s not why I picked Mark. I just picked Mark because, you know, number one, he’s my friend. Number two, lots of people call him the best singer in thrash metal. And, you know, he’s definitely in there. But he came in, he was hungry, and wanted to do it. And I knew his performance would add to the product.”
Mark Osegueda’s Comments On Joining King’s Band
During a March chat with El Planeta Del Rock, Mark Osegueda also talked about joining King’s band. He made it clear that he didn’t use his friendship with King to get the position:
“It wasn’t an overnight thing. It was a long process. Me and Kerry are friends, for sure, but that’s not the reason I got the gig. By no means did I get the gig because we’re friends; it was definitely a lot of hard work.”
The singer continued:
“He’s an institution unto himself as his, as is Slayer, and when Slayer announced that they weren’t gonna go any longer, he made it known to everyone that he was far from done. And when that was announced, it was quite a few years ago. It was probably during the pandemic that I just gave him a cold call out of the blue, or a cold text rather, just saying, ‘Just so you know, I heard you’re doing this, and I’m just throwing my name into the hat, into the ring, or throwing my throat into the ring rather.’ And he was, like, ‘Hmm.’ He’s a very to-the-point guy, and he said, ‘Okay.’ And I know he’s very serious about everything he does musically.”
Before Osegueda was announced as the lead singer, another name was considered. King’s team wanted Phil Anselmo, but King believed Osegueda was the right choice for the project.