“It wasn’t bad blood. Tom was just done”: Kerry King on why Slayer called it quits
Kerry King says was no bad blood at the time of Slayer’s retirement. According to the guitarist, the band’s frontman Tom Araya was “just done” with touring.
The band stepped down in 2019 after a farewell tour, with King going on to share his frustration as he wasn’t ready to stop. Of course, King has now released music of his own with his debut solo record From Hell I Rise, landing back in May.
READ MORE: “Now I would be a rich man!”: Kerry King regrets not signing a better deal for his solo on this classic Beastie Boys track
As King began releasing his own music with his band – Mark Osegueda, Paul Bostaph, Phil Demmel, and Kyle Sanders – three festival “reunion” dates were announced for Slayer, taking many by surprise.
Some fans assumed that a rift with King and Araya may have been to blame for the split to begin with. King was asked by Metal Hammer following the festival date announcement whether he had spoken to Araya since, “No,” he simply replied, going on to explain, “I’m not angry with him or anything, we’re very different people.
“We evolved into business partners at the end of the day. He has very different interests from me, and very different outlooks. Does that make me hate him? No. But I don’t need to talk to him every day.”
Now, speaking to Audio Ink Radio, King explains, “You know, I haven’t seen… I’ve texted Gary [Holt] off and on, and Paul [Bostaph, former Slayer & current Kerry King drummer]’s with me with me all the time, so I’m looking forward to playing with Holt, because we were together 10 years.
“But, you know, me and Paul are on this run are holding down the fort every bit as well as Gary and I did in Slayer. So, I’m looking forward to the largeness of the stage. I’m looking forward to burning everything.”
King goes on to reiterate that there is no big drama between him or Araya, adding: “Yeah, you know, at the end of the day, it wasn’t bad blood. Tom was just done. And when Tom told me he was done, I went, ‘Okay. Well, I’m not going to try to talk you into it’, because if you’re trying to talk somebody into it, their hearts are not in it.”
He continues, “So, it was over for me, and of course, a month after we were done, offers came in, because people think you’re done. What we retired from was touring. We never said we were done playing. We said it was our final tour, and I don’t think three shows constitute a tour, so if you want to get technical, I think we’re in the ballpark of being truthful.”
With that said though, King also doesn’t believe that shows with Slayer will become a regular thing again.
Catch Kerry King on tour, or find out more about Slayer’s upcoming shows.
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