Kerry King recently spoke with Los Angeles Times about Slayer’s upcoming reunion shows. The band, which finished its final tour five years ago, will return to the stage at three festivals this fall.
“I wasn’t ready to hang it up, but there’s really no point in going on with someone that doesn’t want to do it anymore because then you’ve got a half-hearted person onstage,” King said of their initial breakup, referring to bassist/vocalist Tom Araya.
“We won the Super Bowl and we left,” he continued. “That’s pretty cool. Now we’ve got these three anniversary shows. Will there be more? I don’t know. Will we ever record again? Definitely not. Will we ever tour again? Definitely not. But a show here and there to make some people happy, I’m not against that.”
Right after Slayer’s farewell tour ended in November 2019, King intended to release a new project, but the pandemic delayed it until early 2024. His solo album, ‘From Hell I Rise,’ finally came out in May, featuring contributions from Mark Osegueda, Phil Demmel, Kyle Sanders, and Paul Bostaph.
The guitarist spent the past few months touring with his new band to support the record. Meanwhile, Slayer’s decision to comeback from retirement for new dates received criticism online.
“Yeah, at the end of the day, it wasn’t bad blood,” King shared about the matter with Audio Ink Radio in early August. “Tom [Araya] was just done. And when Tom told me he was done, I went, ‘Okay, well, I’m not gonna try to talk you into it,’ because if you’re trying to talk somebody into it, their heart’s not in it. So, it was over for me.”
He added, “And, of course, a month after we were done, offers come in because people think you’re done. So, what we retired from was touring. We never said we were done playing. We said, ‘This is our final tour,’ and I don’t think three shows constitute a tour. So, if you wanna get technical, I think we’re in the ballpark of being truthful.”
Slayer will perform at Riot Fest on September 22, Louder Than Life on September 27, and Aftershock on October 10.