Kerry King

Kerry King

Kerry King live with Slayer
Background information
Birth name Kerry Ray King
Born (1964-06-03) June 3, 1964[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres Thrash metal
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter
Instruments Guitar
Years active 1981–present
Labels Def Jam, American, Metal Blade, Nuclear Blast
Associated acts Slayer, Megadeth, Witchery, Sum 41, Marilyn Manson, Pantera, Beastie Boys, Rob Zombie
Notable instruments
B.C. Rich
KKV

Kerry Ray King (born June 3, 1964) is an American musician, best known as a guitarist for the American thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and has been a member ever since. He became lead songwriter for the band after Hanneman's death. King also played as lead guitarist with Dave Mustaine in 1984 with his band Megadeth.

Biography

Kerry Ray King was born in Los Angeles, California. His father was an aircraft parts inspector, and his mother was an employee of a telephone company.[1] King attended Warren High School in Downey, CA and started learning guitar at Calvano's Music in South Gate.

In school, King was a good student who excelled in math. However, his grades slowly declined after he "discovered" girls. He said it worked out in the end because he did not plan to go to college. King confesses that he is an experienced drinker but he has never done drugs in his entire life.[2]

In 1981, King was at a session trying out for the position of guitarist in a band. After the session was over Jeff Hanneman approached him and the two began playing Iron Maiden and Judas Priest songs with the session's drummer. King and Hanneman subsequently decided to start their own band.[3]

King's trademark personal appearance and extensive tattoos were praised to such a degree by Blender Magazine that they once produced a tour of his body ink.[4] King's abbreviation, KFK, was revealed to mean "Kerry Fuckin' King" in the January 2007 Issue of Guitar World.[5] King currently resides in Corona, California.[5]

Guest appearances

In addition to appearing on Slayer's albums, he's also made several guest appearances. While lending production to 1986's Reign in Blood, Rick Rubin was also helping with production of the Beastie Boys' debut album Licensed to Ill. Rubin felt the track "No Sleep till Brooklyn" needed a guitar solo, so he called in King to lay down the part.[6] King has since commented that his playing ability "certainly wasn't that of a virtuoso".[6] "No Sleep till Brooklyn", whose title was a spoof on Motörhead's 1981 live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, was originally intended to feature King being knocked offstage by a gorilla in its music video although King refused.[6] King replied, "If there's gonna be anyone knocking anyone offstage, it'll be me knocking the gorilla", which was what subsequently happened.[6] King has reminisced that he thought the Beastie Boys were cool, although he had never heard any of their music at the time.[6]

On Licensed to Ill, King also played the guitar solo on the song "Fight For Your Right (To Party)".[7]

King contributed a lead guitar outro part to Pantera's song "Goddamn Electric", which appeared on the 2000 album, Reinventing the Steel.[8] King's rig was set up in Pantera's bathroom backstage just after Ozzfest in Dallas, as the group still did not have their own dressing room, on top of not appearing on the festival bill.[8] After King had finished the first take, Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell ran in and yelled, "Don't let him do it again!"[8] King tried again in the hope he would perform a superior rendition, but the first take was used.[8] King has also made several guest appearances in Marilyn Manson's "Rape of the World" tour, joining the band to play tracks such as "Little Horn", "1996" and "Irresponsible Hate Anthem". Many fans noticed elements of King's own style used on these occasions.[9] On October 21, 2010, the final date of the Jägermeister Music Tour, King joined Megadeth on stage at the Gibson Amphitheater in Hollywood to perform "Rattlehead" which was the first time in 26 years that King had shared the stage with Megadeth. He made a movie appearance in the 2009 movie Brooklyn's Finest as a member of SWAT team led by Ethan Hawke's character.[10]

Style and influence

Kerry King at Nova Rock 2014

Kerry King's first experience with a guitar was when he was a child.[11] Early albums, such as Hell Awaits and Reign in Blood, featured a "wailing style" and "demented soloing often mimicking the screams of the song's victims".[12] Steve Huey of Allmusic described his and Jeff Hanneman's guitar solos as "wildly chaotic".[13] Thom Jurek, also of Allmusic, described his work on 2006's Christ Illusion as creating "an intensely harrowing and angular riff that changes from verse to verse, through the refrain and bridge, and comes back again."[14]

King listed Venom, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath as his favorite bands during his teen years.[15] He said once "Anybody who plays heavy music and doesn't cite Sabbath as an influence is lying, because that's where it all started."[16] He cited Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing of Judas Priest as his biggest influences as a guitarist that inspire his style, tone, and gear. He mentioned Eddie Van Halen, Ted Nugent, Ronnie Montrose, Ritchie Blackmore, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Randy Rhoads as other influences.[17]

Personal life

King has been twice divorced and has a daughter named Shyanne Kymberlee King with his first wife; his current wife is Ayesha King.[18]

King is known to despise organized religion and expresses his views in his songwriting.[19] In a 2006 interview with Blabbermouth.net, King expressed his anti-religious views: "I don't really have a life philosophy; my thing is just rebelling against pretty much organized religion. That is my main thing, because personally I think it's a crutch for people that are too weak to get through life on their own. I'm the kind of guy that says if I don't see it, then it doesn't work. And nobody can show me God."[20] When asked by Revolver Magazine what superpower would he want if he was a supervillain, King replied one of which is the ability to burn a church into flames by simply walking by it.[21]

King is an avid snake collector who owns a reptile house and herpetology nursery called Psychotic Exotics.[22]

Equipment

Brand Name Ref
Guitars [23]
[24]
[25]
B.C. Rich KKV Signature V
B.C. Rich KKW "Metal Master Warlock"
B.C. Rich KKV "Speed V Handcrafted G2"
B.C. Rich KKV "Beast V N.T."
B.C. Rich KKW "Wartribe" 7 string
Amplifiers and cabinets
Marshall JCM-800 2203KK (Signature Model)(x3)
Marshall Mode Four 4x12 Cabinets (x6)
Effects
Boss RGE-10 Graphic EQ
Korg DTR-1 Rack Tuner
Dunlop DCR-1SR Crybaby Rack Wah
Dunlop KFKQZ1 Q-Zone Pedal (signature model)
MXR 10 Band EQ Pedal (signature model)
Shure UHF Wireless System
Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro floorboard
Eventide H3000S Harmonizer
MXR Smart Gate Pro
Radial Tonebone Trimode Classic Tube Distortion
Name Ref
Accessories[23]
[24]
Jim Dunlop Signature Strings
Monster Cable
MM Guitar Picks
Kahler Tremolo System (model 2315)
Dragon Cases
EMG 81 (bridge) (only for 6-string)
EMG 85 (neck) (only for 6-string)
EMG PA2 Gain Boost Switch
EMG SA (neck) (Used for 6-strings equipped with Fernandes Sustainer)
Fernandes FSK-401 Sustainer (neck) (Seated next to EMG S)
Fernandes FSK-101 Sustainer (Neck) (For 6-string when neck pickup isn't needed)
EMG 81-7 (bridge) (only for 7-string)
EMG 707 (neck) (only for 7-string)

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 McIver, Joel (2010). The Bloody Reign of Slayer. Omnibus Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-84938-386-8.
  2. ↑ Lawson, Dom. "Slayer's Kerry King: My Life Story". TeamRock.com. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Davis, Brian. "Knac.com interview with Jeff Hanneman". Knac.com. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
  4. ↑ "Tour of Kerry King's Tattoos". Archived from the original on October 12, 2007., Blender Online, retrieved on March 2, 2007
  5. 1 2 Lahtinen, Lexi (November 4, 2004). "Kerry King of SLAYER". Metal-rules.com. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "An exclusive oral history of Slayer". Decibel Magazine. Archived from the original on August 13, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
  7. ↑ McIver, Joel (2002). Nu Metal – The Next Generation of Rock & Punk (Omnibus Press). Omnibus Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-7119-9209-2.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Davis, Brian (November 10, 2004). "Exclusive! Interview With Slayer Guitarist Kerry King". Knac.com. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  9. ↑ 2008/02/23 Los Angeles, CA – MansonWiki.com
  10. ↑ "Blabbermouth.Net – Slayer's Kerry King To Perform With Megadeth Tonight!". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  11. ↑ McIver, Joel (2010). The Bloody Reign of Slayer. Omnibus Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-84938-386-8.
  12. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Reign in Blood". AllMusic. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
  13. ↑ Steve Huey "Slayer". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  14. ↑ Thom Jurek "Christ Illusion – Slayer". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  15. ↑ Peter McLennan. "15 minutes with Slayer". reocities.com.
  16. ↑ Szatmary, David P. (2014). rockin' in time. p. 381.
  17. ↑ "Kerry King – It's Good To Be King". guitar.com.
  18. ↑ Beck, Aaron (February 10, 2007). "After 25 years, Slayer keeps casting metal". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  19. ↑ McKibbin, Adam. "Slayer: A conversation with Kerry King". The Red Alert. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Slayer's Kerry King: 'My Thing Is Rebelling Against Organized Religion' - Blabbermouth.net". BLABBERMOUTH.NET.
  21. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon. "Mayhem Festival's Headliner Slayer Featured on the Cover of Next Issue of Revolver — Read an Excerpt from the Cover Story". Revolver Magazine. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  22. ↑ Blabbermouth.net. "SLAYER's KERRY KING Takes Viewers To His Snake Farm (Video)". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  23. 1 2 atera, Joe (August 4, 2006). "Slayer's Kerry King: The Art Of Writing Songs That Nobody Else Can Write". UltimateGuitar.com. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  24. 1 2 "World Painted Blood" (Compact Disc). Slayer. American, Sony Music. 2009.
  25. ↑ Mangum, Eric (1995). DOD Presents 100 Superstar Guitar Sounds on a Stompbox Budget. Cherry Lane Music. p. 40. ISBN 1-57560-342-X.
  26. ↑ Christe, Ian (2004). Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. It Books. ISBN 0-380-81127-8.
  27. ↑ "Haunting the Chapel – Slayer". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  28. ↑ "Live Undead – Slayer". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  29. ↑ Gueraseva, Stacy (2005). Def Jam, Inc. : Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and the Extraordinary Story of the World's Most Influential Hip-Hop Label. One World. p. 73. ISBN 0-345-46804-X.
  30. ↑ Ferris, D.X. (2008). Reign in Blood (33⅓). Continuum. p. 45. ISBN 0-8264-2909-2.
  31. ↑ "South of Heaven – Slayer". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  32. ↑ "Seasons in the Abyss – Slayer". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  33. ↑ Bukszpan, Daniel (2003). The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Sterling. p. 210. ISBN 0-7607-4218-9.
  34. ↑ Morris, Chris (July 23, 1994). "American's Platinum Plans For Slayer". Billboard: 14.
  35. ↑ "Undisputed Attitude – Slayer". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  36. ↑ "Diabolus in Musica – Slayer". AllMusic. June 9, 1998. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  37. ↑ Faeth, Laura (2008). I FOUND ALL THE PARTS: Healing the Soul Through Rock 'n' Roll. Sound of Your Soul (an imprint of Wyatt-MacKenzie). p. 7. ISBN 1-932279-91-1.
  38. ↑ "Slayer: 'Eternal Pyre' Single Enters Finnish Chart At No. 2!". 2007-06-05. Blabbermouth.net
  39. ↑ "Slayer's Kerry King Says Forthcoming Album 'Has A Little Bit Of Everything' ". 2009-05-20. Blabbermouth.net
  40. ↑ "World Painted Blood – Slayer". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  41. ↑ Ro, Ronin (2005). Raising Hell: The Reign, Ruin, and Redemption of Run-D.M.C. and Jam Master Jay. p. 187. ISBN 0-06-078195-5.
  42. ↑ Guitar World Presents Nu-Metal. Hal Leonard. 2002. p. 32. ISBN 0-634-03287-9.
  43. ↑ "Loud Rock". CMJ. 69 No. 11 (742): 16. December 10, 2001.
  44. ↑ "Sum 41 – It's What We're All About (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
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