“Everyone thinks Slayer is getting back together, but that couldn’t be further from the truth”: How Kerry King rose from the ashes of Slayer – ready to slay all over again

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2024 Year in Review: Slay bells ring, are you listening? From Hell I Rise is the sound of a thrash icon doing what thrash icons do best

Kerry King with his new signature Dean
(Image credit: Rayon Richards)

2024 Year in Review: Kerry King has certainly been forthcoming about his dissatisfaction with Slayer calling it a day since the group played their “final” show in November 2019.

The decision led to him writing and recording for his new solo band, launching in February this year, with Phil Demmel [ex-Machine Head] joining him on guitar for the May debut release.

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Amit Sharma
Amit Sharma

Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences as a guitar player. He's worked for magazines like Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Prog, Record Collector, Planet Rock, Rhythm and Bass Player, as well as newspapers like Metro and The Independent, interviewing everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handled lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).