Kerry King’s debut solo album, ‘From Hell I Rise,’ featured Mark Osegueda as the lead vocalist. Following the album’s release in May, Osegueda joined King for live performances, where he also performed some classic Slayer tracks as well.
The vocalist reflected on what it was like to sing Tom Araya’s parts on stage in a recent interview with Metal-Rules.com. “I love to do it. I love singing Tom’s stuff. I say that because I’m a Slayer fan, plain and simple. I think Tom has an iconic voice, one that I’ve always liked and respected,” he shared.
“When I perform those songs, I try to do him justice,” Osegueda continued while explaining the most challenging side of Araya’s vocals. “I’m very confident that I can do him justice. The most difficult part tends to be the phrasing, especially when he does the fast bits. There’s some rapid-fire delivery in those songs, and that’s probably the most challenging aspect. But range-wise, I think we’re pretty similar, though maybe some of my highs reflect younger Tom.”
He added, “I love doing it, for sure. As I said, I just try to do my best for the Slayer legacy and the fans who love Slayer.”
Kerry King’s solo band went on tour shortly before his new album’s release. Their setlist usually included two or three Slayer tracks along with the solo material.
King appreciated the similarity between Tom and Mark’s vocals in an earlier interview with Glide Magazine but shared, “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.”
King’s group carried their ongoing world tour from Europe to North America in July. They will perform at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on August 21.