Kerry King
From:
CA,
United States
Last Known Status: Active
Latest Kerry King News
Below is our complete Kerry King news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Report
Brutal Assault 2025 Five Days & 73k Steps of Metal
This year was Brutal Assault’s 30 anniversary and the organizers gifted metal fans with over 140 bands ranging from the avant-garde to the most extreme black metal plus every heavy metal genre in between those two. Even though I was exhausted by the end of the festival, I have nothing but incredible memories to look back upon. If you’re into statistics the following are Metalunderground’s for the fest: Thirty-four bands covered, two face-to-face interviews (Gene Hoglan from Dark Angel and Malevolent Creation), 73,000 steps with temperatures ranging from the upper 50’s to the middle 80’s Fahrenheit over a five-day span with fifteen minutes of rain on the warm-up day. Not too shabby.
If this is your first time hearing about this festival, I’ll make this quick. Brutal Assault takes place at the 18th century Josefov Fortress located in the metalhead friendly town of Jaromer, located on the eastern edge of the Czech Republic. The fortress has served as Brutal Assault’s home base since 2012 and its massive worn brick walls and labyrinth of hallways and catacombs make Brutal Assault one of the most unique and popular European summer metal festivals year after year. If you’ve never been to Brutal Assault before, check out the video below for a brief and partial walkaround of the festival’s grounds.
In the past, I would normally post reports of the bands that I saw day by day and also my overall opinion of that year’s festival. To be honest, I think writing long-winded reports is now considered outdated in terms of Road Reports and more of you would prefer to read the bullet points and watch some videos to get the gist of the festival being reported on. Without further ado, here’s the skinny on this year’s Brutal Assault.
I was able to catch the majority of this year’s headliner acts to include Macabre (warm-up day), Kerry King, Rotting Christ, Gojira, Blood Fire Death, Fear Factory, Mayhem, Dimmu Borgir, Cult of Luna, Opeth and The Halo Effect. With all the aforementioned bands worthy of headliner status, one band stood out above the rest, and it wasn’t even close. That band was Gojira.
Even before Gojira was awarded Olympic gold medal status among heavy music fans around the world, they had already proven that they were one of the world’s top metal acts long before last year's Summer Olympics performance. Fast forward to Gojira’s set at this year’s Brutal Assault set and I think just about everyone that witnessed it would say that it was a jaw dropping and heart stopping performance.
I’ve seen Gojira plenty of times and they’ve always been excellent, but this time it was just on a different level. They only way I can describe it was that they were perfect. Their sound, the musicianship, their stage show and the energy flowing back and forth between crowd and band was amazing. If you don’t believe me, just go on YouTube and watch for yourself. I was able to record one song and even though it’s farther back from the stage, you can get the gist of it.
OpEd
Brutal Assault Is Almost Here!!! Are You Going?
Here are some quotes from past attendees on YouTube:
"You go to Brutal once, you will fall in love instantly!" - @gybarni
"This is the best festival in the whole world! Can't wait for next year! <3" - @eveningwhispers13
"Best festival ever :D See you in BA 28!" - @AnsiSysX86
And the quotes go on and on...need more convincing? Watch the 2024 aftermovie below. More...
Brutal Assault Reveals Daily Lineups
Brutal Assault, the annual celebration for all fans of extreme music, announces the division of bands by day for this year’s edition. At the same time, single-day ticket sales have been launched – available for all five days of the festival.
The festival traditionally kicks off on Tuesday with a warm-up event, giving visitors a chance to get pumped up for the four days of sonic mayhem to follow. This year’s warm-up will feature thrash/speed maniacs Carnivore A.D., Norwegian doom prophets Funeral, and cult American trio Macabre. Representing the Czech scene is a handpicked lineup: Marked As An Enemy, Cutterred Flesh, Pan Lynx, Faüst, and See You In Hell.
Wednesday marks the start of the main program with a heavy and uncompromising punch. Fortress Josefov will quake under the force of American sludge titans Mastodon, industrial legends Ministry and Static-X, and thrash metal icon Kerry King, who will make his Brutal Assault debut. Death metal fans can look forward to Dying Fetus and Blood Red Throne, while black metal rituals will be delivered by Rotting Christ and Ruïm.
Thursday will maintain the high tempo – French juggernauts Gojira return to Josefov, joined by '90s modern metal icons Fear Factory and Norwegian progressives Leprous. A triple dose of American death metal comes courtesy of Obituary, Suffocation, and Nile, while metalcore fans can brace for Fit For a King and August Burns Red. The day also includes a tribute to legendary band Bathory by the project Blood Fire Death.
Friday won’t give listeners a moment to catch their breath. On stage will be black metal pioneers Mayhem and symphonic heavyweights Dimmu Borgir. Modern metalcore will be represented by Landmvrks and Counterparts, post-metal melancholy by Cult of Luna and Harakiri for the Sky, and a gothic metal mass by Paradise Lost.
Saturday offers a fitting finale to the entire festival. Look forward to progressive death metal masters Opeth, brutal blasts from Brujeria and Benighted, and Australian prog-metal gem Karnivool. Old-school energy will be brought by hardcore legends Agnostic Front and thrashers Overkill, while modern melodic death metal will be served by Swedish project The Halo Effect.
The festival is also launching the sale of a limited number of single-day tickets! These are available for each day of the event – a perfect choice for those who can’t attend the whole week but still don’t want to miss out on the highlight of the metal summer. Single-day parking is also available.
Brutal Assault will take place in the Czech Republic at the Josefov Fortress during August 6-9, 2025.
Festival passes are available HERE! More...
OpEd
Brutal Assault Is Less Than 100 Days Away!
With less than 100 days left until Brutal Assault 2025, the line-up was finally completed. If you don’t know what a Brutal Assault is, it’s the one of the premier metal festivals in all of Europe that takes place during the summer. It takes place in the town Jaromer within an 18th century fortress on the eastern edge of the Czech Republic. It’s only a two-hour bus ride from the capital city of Prague. Wroclaw, Poland is two and a half hours to the northeast. In other words, all roads lead to Brutal Assault no matter which airport you prefer to fly into.
The festival beckons about 20 thousand attendees every year, but because the grounds are so massive, it seems less than that. The festival has been in existence since 1996, so the festival organizers know how to smoothly run a music festival this size by now. There are two main stages that ping-pong the headliner types all day and night long and there are 3 other smaller stages as well.
Now that I’ve gotten the basics of Brutal Assault out of the way, I’ll get to this years’ bands. There are over 140 of them…
3 INCHES OF BLOOD, ABSU, AGNOSTIC FRONT, ALUK TODOLO, ANGELMAKER, ARTHUR BROWN, ASPHYX, ATTILA, AUGUST BURNS RED, AVULSED, BENIGHTED, BESNA, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, BLOOD FIRE DEATH: A TRIBUTE TO QUORTHON AND THE MUSIC OF BATHORY, BLOOD RED THRONE, BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE, BRUJERIA, BRUTALLY DECEASED, CAR BOMB, CARNIVORE A.D., COUNTERPARTS, CRYPT SERMON, CRYPTA, CRYSTAL LAKE, CULT OF LUNA, CUTTERRED FLESH, DARK ANGEL, DARK FUNERAL, DEFEATED SANITY, DIMMU BORGIR, DOPE, DROWNING POOL, DYING FETUS, ENVY, EXHORDER, FAÜST, FEAR FACTORY, FIT FOR A KING, FIVE THE HIEROPHANT, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, FRAYLE, FULCI, FUNERAL, FURIA, GADGET, GAEREA, GOJIRA, GOST, GRAPHIC NATURE, GRAVE, GREEN LUNG, GUTALAX, GUTSLIT, HÄLLAS, HANABIE, HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY, HELLBUTCHER, HELLRIPPER, HERIOT, HIDEOUS DIVINITY, HIGH PARASITE, ILL NIÑO, INTER ARMA, KARNIVOOL, KATAKLYSM, KERRY KING, KING WOMAN, KLIDAS, KUBLAI KHAN TX, LANDMVRKS, LEPROUS, MACABRE, MALEVOLENT CREATION, MALIGNANCY, MAMMOTH GRINDER, MANTAR, MARKED AS AN ENEMY, MASTODON, MAYHEM, MINISTRY, MNEMIC, MONOLORD, NE OBLIVISCARIS, NILE, OBITUARY, OBSCURE SPHINX, OPETH, ORANGE GOBLIN, ORANSSI PAZUZU, OVERKILL, PAN LYNX, PARADISE LOST, PATRIARCHY, PELICAN, PIG DESTROYER, PRIEST, PRONG, PROTECTOR, PSYCROPTIC, PYREXIA, PYRRHON, REPLICANT, REZN, RIVERS OF NIHIL, ROTTING CHRIST, RUÏM, RYKER’S, SEE YOU IN HELL, SIGH, SKÁLMÖLD, SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM, SLOW CRUSH, STATIC–X, SUFFOCATION, SYLVAINE, THE BROWNING, THE HALO EFFECT, THE KOVENANT, THROWN, TO THE GRAVE, TSJUDER, UNLEASHED, WARBRINGER, WAYFARER, WITHIN DESTRUCTION, XIII. STOLETí, ZEKE, and ZEMIAL. More...
Brutal Assault 2025 Lineup 70% Complete
The lineup is now almost complete for the 2025 edition. If you've been contemplating on attending this year's Brutal Assault festival, just check out the 2024 aftermovie. If that doesn't convince you to go, then nothing will! Brutal Assault has unveiled over 90 names, making up more than 70% of the total lineup. More...
Slayer’s King Feat. On Priest’s New Entrance Theme
The revamped version of WWE superstar Damian Priest's entrance theme, "Rise For The Night", has now been officially released online. This updated track features guitar work from Slayer legend Kerry King, adding a heavy dose of metal to the anthem. Priest debuted this version of the theme in November during his WWE appearances.
A devoted fan of Slayer, Priest has consistently paid homage to the iconic band, even naming his signature sitout chokeslam finisher ‘South Of Heaven’, inspired by Slayer's classic album and title track.
Kerry King To Play Brutal Assault In 2025
The Titan Of Thrash Metal Kerry King To Play Brutal Assault In 2025. Hell Awaits! Expect a slayerific set-list when Kerry and crew hit the stage next summer! More...
Category 7 Premiere New Single & Music Video
Thrash metal supergroup Category 7 has premiered a music video for their track "Land I Used To Love." Directed by Tom Flynn (known for his work with As I Lay Dying and 10 Years), this latest video showcases the band’s powerhouse lineup of veteran metal musicians, which includes:
Vocals: John Bush (Armored Saint, ex-Anthrax)
Guitars: Mike Orlando (ex-Adrenaline Mob)
Guitars: Phil Demmel (Kerry King, ex-Machine Head/Vio-lence)
Bass: Jack Gibson (Exodus)
Drums: Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall/Overkill)
The group’s first headlining tour in support of their self-titled debut album will kick off this spring, with dates as follows: More...
Kerry King Premiere New Music Video
Slayer guitarist Kerry King is gearing up for his first headlining North American tour with his new band, set to kick off on January 15th, 2025, in San Francisco, CA. Supporting acts for the tour include crossover thrash veterans Municipal Waste and Maori groove metal outfit Alien Weaponry. Pre-sale tickets go live today, October 2nd, at 10:00 AM local time (password: ‘RISE’), with general sales starting this Friday, October 4th, at 10:00 AM local.
In other news, King has released a new music video for his track "Where I Reign," directed by Jim Louvau and filmed during his summer tour. Earlier this year, King dropped his solo debut album From Hell I Rise, which was released in May. His band features an impressive lineup: Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) on vocals, Phil Demmel (Vio-lence, ex-Machine Head) on guitar, Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH, ex-bloodsimple.) on bass, and Paul Bostaph (ex-Slayer) on drums
Report
The Final Day Of Mystic 2024, Satyricon Was KING
Sadly, the final day of the 25th edition of Mystic Festival had arrived. It was to be the busiest day of the festival but we were rested and ready to take on whatever the day may bring. Earlier, the day featured many “Core” and screamo type bands but the late afternoon and evening schedule would consist of mostly of Black, Doom and Death Metal.
_-_06-06-2024/Miscellaneous/Miscellaneous_7.jpg)
There’s always plenty of seating at Mystic Festival
I was talked into checking out Lord of the Lost by a fellow photographer friend a few weeks ago. I didn’t really know much about them and I didn’t bother to preview them before the festival like I normally do. When I arrived at the photo pit area, it sounded like a Ghost concert was getting ready to begin with all the mostly teen-aged crowd screaming at the top of their lungs. Well, I can say that are definitely not my cup of tea. I was impressed with their stage look and energy level, but they were a shoot my three obligatory songs and on to the next stage sort of band for me.
_-_06-08-2024/Lord_of_the_Lost/Lord_of_the_Lost_1.jpg)
Chris "The Lord" Harms of Lord of the Lost
Next up was Greece’s 1000mods. They are unequivocally the Kyuss of Greece and perhaps all of Europe. There was a lot of excitement brewing around the Desert Stage when I arrived. How could I tell? I lost count of how many times I heard the word “Malaka” being shouted while waiting for them to take to the sun-drenched stage. The band was prepared on this bright and sunny day, sporting sunglasses when began their set with “Electric Carve.” This was my 2nd time seeing them and their formula is a simple one. Keep it simple and keep it grooving. It’s a simple yet effective formula, but it works for them. Maybe that’s why they’ve been a Stoner Metal fan favorite at every show they play since their formation in 2006.
_-_06-08-2024/1000mods/1000mods_6.jpg)
1000mods
When Kerry King released his first solo band album earlier this year, there were a lot of mixed reviews about it. The most prevalent opinion that I read was that it sounded like leftover Slayer material that never made it onto their last recorded album. I felt that was a fair assessment. I only listened to about half of the album and what I heard wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t exciting either. The question now was, how would it his solo material translate to a live performance?
_-_06-08-2024/Kerry_King/Kerry_King_1.jpg)
Kerry King
Overall, I was impressed with the set. Kerry King has a star laden backing band so that helped. Mark Osegueda’s vocal stylings for this band definitely have a Tom Araya-ish tone to them and personally, I like that. There was plenty of Slayer like pyrotechnics happening throughout the set and of course there were not one…not two…but THREE Slayer songs included in the setlist! I can’t tell you how impressed I was that they played “Black Magic.” I guess subconsciously, I really do miss Slayer. I’ll bet at some point they’ll reform and play a few special, one-off shows. I can almost guarantee it.
_-_06-08-2024/Kerry_King/Kerry_King_5.jpg)
Phil Demmel and Mark Osegueda
Dark Funeral was next on the Park Stage. It was already late afternoon so a Black Metal band wearing corpse paint in daylight hours outdoors just appears a little strange visually. Dark Funeral has always been a little dramatic live so it wasn’t too much of a surprise that vocalist Heljarmadr was playing the part of Nosferatu throughout the band’s intro music. Dark Funeral are very good live, but they are known to use a lot of pyro. Today, there was none of that but they were still one of the better bands that I saw for the entire day.
_-_06-08-2024/Dark_Funeral/Dark_Funeral_07.jpg)
Heljarmadr of Dark Funeral More...
Category 7 (Armored Saint, Etc.) Premiere New Song
Category 7, the supergroup featuring current and former members of Armored Saint, Machine Head, Exodus, Shadows Fall, and more, are back with another single, “Exhausted.” This track is from the band’s forthcoming self-titled debut album, set to be released on July 26th via Metal Blade Records.
Frontman John Bush commented: More...
Column
What's So Great About Mystic Festival? Read This.
1. Certain bands that hardly come stateside but are easier to see if you’re in Europe. The bands I’m specifically referring to for this article are Gutalax, Asphyx, Furia, Satyricon and Blasphemy. Gutalax are actually going to be playing a couple of dates in the U.S. come September, but I didn’t want to wait that long to see them live for the first time. Asphyx, well…it was 2017 when they were stateside and Furia, I bet never. Satyricon has played some scattered dates here and there but are definitely more active in Europe. Mystic Festival has all of them this summer!
2. The cooler temperatures! This is my third Mystic Festival in a row and because it kicks off the metal festival season in early June, you can still comfortably wear a jacket at night. In fact, in 2022, the temperatures at the end of the first night of the festival were in the 40’s Fahrenheit. The Polish attendees are used to these types of temperatures but for someone that splits their time between Phoenix, Arizona and Athens, Greece, that’s called winter! The days, however, are beautiful. No complaints there.
3. The festival foods. It’s Poland, but this festival offers more than just pierogi and kielbasa. In fact, they are both more difficult to find at Mystic Festival than everything else available. There’s really good pizzas, hamburgers, some Mexican, Portuguese (!!!), lángos (think frybread with sour cream) and plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. The prices are fair for festival food but the lines can be long at times. There’s an actual indoor food court with plenty of seating if you need to get away for a bit. More...
Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) Premieres New Music Video
Jamey Jasta, vocalist of Hatebreed and more, has unveiled a music video for his track "Suicidality" under his solo project, Jasta. The song includes a guest appearance from Phil Demmel (known for his work with Kerry King, ex-Machine Head, and more) and will be featured on Jasta's upcoming solo album, "...And Jasta For All."
The album is set to be released on May 17th, with the following track-list confirmed: More...
Headline News
See: Kerry King Perform Together For The 1st Time
Besides the highly anticipated return of Slayer this year, renowned thrash metal guitarist Kerry King has been unveiling his own solo venture. Below, you can immerse yourself in the song "Residue" from his inaugural album, "From Hell I Rise." This release is scheduled for May 17th under Reigning Phoenix Music.
Jim Louvau and Tony Aguilera (known for their work with Jerry Cantrell and Greg Puciato) co-helmed the dynamic visuals accompanying this track.
King offered his thoughts: More...
Kerry King Added To Mystic Festival Line-Up
Kerry King, one of thrash metal's most iconic guitarists and a co-founder of the mighty Slayer, is finally back in the game. Album 'From Hell I Rise', announced for mid-May, opens a new solo chapter of his career. This doesn't mean, of course, that King will be alone on stage, as he has gathered a splendid line-up - he is accompanied on drums by his Slayer bandmate Paul Bostaph (also of Testament, Exodus and Forbidden), with Phil Demmel (known for Machine Head and Vio-Lence) playing second guitar and Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah) on bass. The voice of Kerry King's band is Mark Osegueda, well known to thrash fans from Death Angel. The music? Exactly what you'd expect from King - thrash straight from hell, a high-octane continuation of what he did in Slayer.
Mystic Festival will take place in Gdansk, Poland at the Gdansk Shipyard on June 5th through 8th, 2024.
Tickets are available now on the Mystic Festival homepage here More...
Lamb Of God & Mastodon Announce Co-Headlining Tour
On the heels of yesterday’s announcement of his upcoming solo project, today it is announced that Kerry King will be Special Guest on the upcoming Lamb of God/Mastodon North American “Ashes of Leviathan” co-headlne tour. The six-week run launches on July 19 in Grand Prairie, TX, and will wrap on August 31 in Omaha, NE. The general ticket on-sale begins this Friday, February 9th. King will make his 2024 concert debut in May, first at the Welcome To Rockville Festival (May 9), followed by Sonic Temple Arts & Music Festival (May 16).
For all of these dates, King will be joined by the musicians who played on his upcoming debut solo album, From Hell I Rise: drummer Paul Bostaph (Slayer), bassist Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah), Phil Demmel on guitar (formerly Machine Head), and vocalist Mark Osegueda (Death Angel). From Hell I Rise is due out May 17 (Reigning Phoenix Music.)
The tour dates are as follows: More...
Headline News
Kerry King Announces Debut Solo Album Release Date
The Los Angeles Forum, just before midnight on Saturday, November 30, 2019. Slayer’s Kerry King stood center stage, his signature chains hung from his belt, he walked over to stage right, unhooked the chains and held them high, dropped them onto the stage floor, turned around and walked off the stage.
"I knew early on that I wasn’t done, and I had no intention of not continuing to play."
— Kerry King
With enough new material for two full albums, all written by King, if it hadn’t been for the COVID pandemic, his long-awaited solo project would likely have emerged back in 2020. For his debut album, "From Hell I Rise," due out May 17 on Reigning Phoenix Music, King, on lead guitar, enlisted drummer Paul Bostaph (Slayer), bassist Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah), Phil Demmel (formerly Machine Head) on lead guitar, and vocalist Mark Osegueda (Death Angel). Working with producer Josh Wilbur (Korn, Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold, Bad Religion), the vast bulk of King’s solo album was recorded at Henson Studios in Los Angeles in about two weeks, and was finished this past June.
"I didn’t know what to think, you know, it’s Kerry King from Slayer who I’ve heard a million times," said Wilbur. "He’s a very strong presence. I wouldn’t say Kerry has an ego, but he has confidence in himself, which is a good thing. That’s what you want in your rock stars and in your band. He never comes off as a jerk or mean guy. But he does know exactly what he wants. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He’s like, ‘I don’t want to do that, but I want to do this.’ Very direct, but it comes from a place of confidence, and not from a place of anything else. I really enjoyed working with Kerry." More...