Biography
Kerry King earned renown as Slayer’s co-lead guitarist and primary songwriter while maintaining a parallel passion for reptiles that led him to build a dedicated reptile house and herpetology nursery. As one of thrash metal’s chief architects, he composed or helped shape landmark tracks such as “Raining Blood,” “Hell Awaits,” and “Mandatory Suicide,” whose kinetic, caustic, and chaotic riffs powered more than four decades of output from the California band that, together with Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax, defined the genre during the mid- to late ’80s and early ’90s. Following Slayer’s 2019 hiatus, King launched a solo career with the 2024 release of his debut album, From Hell I Rise.
Born and raised in Los Angeles as Kerry Ray King, he began playing guitar at age thirteen and drew inspiration from an array of shredders that included Judas Priest’s Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing, Eddie Van Halen, Ted Nugent, Ronnie Montrose, Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, Adrian Smith, and Randy Rhoads. In 1981 he joined Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, and Dave Lombardo to form Slayer, whose uncompromising attitude, breakneck pace, technical prowess, and antitheist lyrics helped mold the West Coast thrash scene while albums such as Hell Awaits, Reign In Blood, and Seasons in the Abyss established the group as one of extreme metal’s most influential forces.
After Hanneman’s death in 2013, King and Araya guided the band through its remaining forty-three years, issuing twelve studio albums, three live albums, a box set, six music videos, two extended plays, and a covers album before the 2019 hiatus. For his first solo project King assembled a formidable lineup featuring Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph, Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda, Hellyeah bassist Kyle Sanders, and Vio-lence and former Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel. The resulting 2024 album, From Hell I Rise, presented a punishing collection of new thrash material built on Slayer’s established sonic framework.
Born and raised in Los Angeles as Kerry Ray King, he began playing guitar at age thirteen and drew inspiration from an array of shredders that included Judas Priest’s Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing, Eddie Van Halen, Ted Nugent, Ronnie Montrose, Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, Adrian Smith, and Randy Rhoads. In 1981 he joined Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, and Dave Lombardo to form Slayer, whose uncompromising attitude, breakneck pace, technical prowess, and antitheist lyrics helped mold the West Coast thrash scene while albums such as Hell Awaits, Reign In Blood, and Seasons in the Abyss established the group as one of extreme metal’s most influential forces.
After Hanneman’s death in 2013, King and Araya guided the band through its remaining forty-three years, issuing twelve studio albums, three live albums, a box set, six music videos, two extended plays, and a covers album before the 2019 hiatus. For his first solo project King assembled a formidable lineup featuring Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph, Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda, Hellyeah bassist Kyle Sanders, and Vio-lence and former Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel. The resulting 2024 album, From Hell I Rise, presented a punishing collection of new thrash material built on Slayer’s established sonic framework.
Albums
Singles
