In a new interview with Full Metal Jackie, the frontman of Death Angel and Kerry King’s solo band Mark Osegueda talked about the ‘Ashes of Leviathan’ tour. When asked if he had a favorite Slayer song to sing, the rocker named ‘Black Magic’ and said he can hit higher notes than Tom Araya.
“Once I hit those high notes in ‘Black Magic,’ a lot of times you literally see fans up front their faces going, ‘Oh, whoa,’” the singer explained.
“From what I’ve heard, Tom [Araya] hasn’t sung the high notes in quite some time,” he continued. “It’s just neat for me to be able to still accomplish those high notes and win the respect of the Slayer fans because I know I got a microscope on me when I’m singing those songs for sure.”
“I have nothing but the utmost respect for Tom and his voice. So I definitely want to do it justice because I’m first and foremost a fan and I’m just lucky enough to have got this gig and get to sing those songs,” Osegueda added.
Kerry King’s debut solo album, ‘From Hell I Rise,’ featured Osegueda as the lead vocalist. After the album came out in May, the singer joined King for live shows, where he also performed some classic Slayer tracks.
“I’ve talked to many of the diehard Slayer fans, and they’ve said, ‘We didn’t know what to expect, but you’re doing those Slayer songs justice,’” the rocker said in another interview about what it was like to sing Tom Araya’s parts on stage. “That’s the main goal for me — obviously, to pull off what we did on the record live. But I know there are always going to be naysayers when it comes to Slayer’s material. When we perform live, you can see some of their faces gradually change by the end, and they’re, like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.’ To me, that’s a huge compliment.”
Kerry King’s solo band went on tour just before his new album came out. Their setlist usually included two or three Slayer tracks along with the solo material.
The solo band’s upcoming shows include Arena CDMX in Mexico. After that, they will play another festival and finish with a three-day run at the Good Things Festival in Melbourne.