BY: JAKE STUDENT

If you havent heard of Slayer you need to crawl out of your dark lonely shell. Slayer has been producing some of the heaviest albums to hit the shelves for years on end. Below is my 20 minute conversation with the guitarist Kerry King, who proved to be quite the intelligent individual

Jake: So back in 1989 you were condemned by many pissed-off mothers as being an evil which is influencing our kids to become an evil bunch of Satan-worshipers themselves. Well, its been well over ten years and most of those people who listened to you have grown up and held down job, responsible citizens if you will. Do you feel vindicated in a sense?
Kerry: Nah, I think people give too much thought to what our agenda is. We dont have an agenda, we just wanna come out and play killer songs and put on killer shows, stuff that if I was a fan Id be into myself. All these people that have too much time on their hands and concern themselves with other peoples affairs are just a waste of my time.

Jake: For the record, do you worship Satan? Or do you simply respect Satans power?
Kerry: Actually, me and Jeff are both Atheist. Its just a good subject. I dont agree with organized religion so its easy for me to pick on. I could just look out the window and find holes in it every day. So I guess that kinda influences people that were satanic, but take my lyrics from Cult for example. That song is about how I feel like the biggest cult is religion, not one of these wacko cults, but the one right in front of your face.
Jake: Why do you think the medias attitude for what is and isnt acceptable has changed so much over the years?
Kerry: I think as time goes more people are desensitized about things that werent acceptable 10 years ago. Look at a prime time T.V. show now. Im not talking about cable Im talking about CBS or NBC. Theyre getting away with shit you never woulda saw ten years ago. I dont know what keeps pushing the envelope, I guess its just human nature wanting to be more grossed out or intrigued or whatever.
Jake: As an artist, what do you think about satellite radio taking over? Is the death of commercial radio soon approaching?
Kerry: I dont know. Every record I do an interview with Sirius and XM and they generally give me a receiver of some sort but I never turn it on. I think its cool that theres metal channels because if it was just radio over the airwaves youd never hear us. I think its good for a band like us and if youre only a metal fan you can go somewhere and hear stuff that youre into. I think some of its a little too abstract, from what I have heard of it, I mean no one would like some of these EVER! Ya know, ya wanna hear Slayer, ya wanna hear Megadeth, Inflames, Arch Enemy, you dont wanna hear undefinitive bands, its just a waste of air space.
Jake: Metal seems to be doing well lately. Theres a lot going on with a lot of quality bands coming out. What do you think has contributed to metals surge lately?
Kerry: I think theres a lot of cool new bands, people like us have stayed around and continued to put stuff out, so theres a link between what was and what is right now. About seven years ago when bands like Godsmack were getting popular I thought Thats cool, heavy rock is getting popular, but when people get sick of hearing these guys theyre gonna head down metal street. Its just one of those peak times for metal. Hopefully itll stay around for five or ten years
Jake: So lets go all the way back to the beginning, how did you guys come together and decided that you were gonna make this band a reality?
Kerry: We just made a band. Me and Jeff were 17, Dave was probably 16, Tom was like three years older than us. We were just kids getting together seeing if we could make something work. We started playing covers and then worked our way to originals and just kept expanding from there.
Jake: When did you start to realize that you might actually be able to play music for a living?
Kerry: Probably the first time we left Southern California. We didnt have friends anywhere yet so if someone came to see us anywhere we must be doing something right.
Jake: What was the hardest thing about pursuing music as a profession in the beginning?
Kerry: The sacrifice. If you really wanna make it you gotta be willing to make any sacrifice. You gotta pretty much give up everything to try to make it that one shot, cause youre only gonna get one shot.
Jake: What do you see for the future of metal?
Kerry: Its hard to say. Its thriving right now. If bands dont put out too many shitty records it should sustain itself fine.
Jake: Are there bands that you know that youd expect to blow up in the near future?
Kerry: Its hard to say blow up because one band might be gigantic in Europe and be second on the bill here in the states. Different territories are bigger for different bands. But I like In Flames, Arch Enemy and Chimera. As far as brand new bands, I just listened to a CD from a band called Demiricus that Im really into. They sound just like us.
Jake: So youve played shows all over the world on your tours, where do you like playing the most?
Kerry: I like playing Australia. Its a foreign place but I can still basically understand what everybodys telling me.
Jake: Where has the gnarliest mosh pit been so far?
Kerry: Thats hard to say. Philadelphia has always been kinda crazy. Chicagos also kinda crazy. A lot of the Canadian cities go off, metals peaking over there. Its giant.
Jake: If you could trade everything youve done with music for another profession would you?
Kerry: Hell No!
Jake: Are you looking forward to playing in the Bay Area coming up on The Unholy Alliance Tour?
Kerry: Yeah, thats another one thats always off the hook. Thats one of the first places we ever played outside of Southern California. Its kinda like our second home. I can always count on a crazy audience in San Francisco.
Jake: Are most of the songs that youre playing on this tour from one CD or more of a mix?
Kerry: Its definitely a mix. Theres a new one were playing, Cult. You can get it on Itunes or at Hot Topic or something like that.
Jake: Tell me a little bit about your new CD Christ Illusion coming out this August 8th.
Kerry: Its awesome (laughs). Everyone says that about their album. I liked God Hates Us All and I thought it was a great record, then we got the final mixes of this one and I thought this one was sonically better and is more complete. Probably because we had more time to work on it. Weve been working on it forever.