The Slayer guitarist warmed up his new band by supporting Mastodon and Lamb of God this summer
Next year, Kerry King is embarking on his first-ever solo headlining tour. The Slayer guitarist and his new band played a few warm-up gigs, and then recently toured with Lamb of God and Mastodon on their Ashes of Leviathan Tour. Now, the group is plotting their first North American headlining run slated to start on January 15, 2025.
Check out the full tour itinerary below.
“Getting back on the road for the first time in five years wasn’t exactly like riding a bike, that’s for sure,” King stated. “I’ve never had that much time off, but the first tours with my new band – in the UK and Europe, and then in America with Lamb of God and Mastodon – were all total blasts. We’ll be headlining on this next tour, so we’re playing a longer set than we did with Lamb of God and Mastodon. We’ve got a little bit of a learning curve, so will start rehearsing the first week of November. And we might put an extra Slayer song into the set and learn a cover song or two.”
album, From Hell I Rise, is slated to arrive on May 17 through Reigning Phoenix Music. It was produced by Kerry King himself, alongside Josh Wilbur (Avenged Sevenfold, Lamb of God, Korn). For the record, King recruited Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph, Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda, Hellyeah bassist Kyle Sanders, and former Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel, who briefly toured with Slayer back in 2018.
The first two singles from the project were “Idle Hands” and “Residue,” the latter of which is accompanied by the first music video for the project. It was directed by Jim Louvau and Tony Aguilera, and shot at their studio in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.
According to Louvau, his concept for the video was simple: “A fiery, bitchin’, heavy fucking metal performance introducing the world to Kerry King’s new project and band members. A no bullshit, no prisoners showcase of the band members, performing while engulfed in flames and surrounded by burning pentagrams.”
“I come from a big fire pedigree,” King states, “and my music works with fire. I’ve always written horror-type music, so it made sense to incorporate fire into the first video, where you get to see the entire band, which I think is just awesome. I think fire goes hand-in-hand with the devil, and I’m no stranger to talking about the devil.”
Louvau adds, “I knew this would be the first time that the world was going to see the band performing together, so I wanted to create a fast-moving visual assault. Pyrotechnics and Kerry King clearly go hand in hand and seem to fit like a glove, so Tony and I wanted to create something that felt familiar but also something new and exciting. I also knew I could get away with certain visuals like a burning pentagram.”
The LP From Hell I Rise was produced by Kerry King himself, alongside Josh Wilbur (Avenged Sevenfold, Lamb of God, Korn). It is slated to arrive on May 17 through Reigning Phoenix Music. It is available on CD, cassette, and digital download, as well as several colored vinyl variants. A special vinyl + CD + t-shirt bundle is also available.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, King spoke about the album, and its lead single.
“‘Idle Hands’ are what I’ve been doing for the last four years,” Kerry said of the song. “That and From Hell I Rise have been my frame of mind in the last four-and-a-half years.”
Instead of trying to come up with a new moniker, the Slayer legend simply called the group, Kerry King.
“It was going to be King’s Reign for a long time, which is really cool. But even with that one, I went to the guys like, ‘I’m not a vain dude. I don’t want my name to be a part of it.’ We talked about Blood Reign for a while, but it didn’t work. Every time I came up with anything remotely cool it was taken by some obscure band in Eastern Europe. It became Kerry King because I love the logo.”
Back in May, Kerry King performed at Sonic Temple in Columbus, Ohio with Disturbed, Misfits, Pantera, Slipknot, Judas Priest, Sleep Token, Falling In Reverse, 311, A Day to Remember, Clutch, Mr. Bungle, Mudvayne, and others. King and company also slated to perform at Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida alongside Mötley Crüe, Foo Fighters, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Judas Priest, Falling In Reverse, Greta Van Fleet, Breaking Benjamin, Anthrax, In This Moment, Primus, Architects, and many more.
After nearly 40 years and 12 studio albums, Slayer decided it was time to say farewell back in 2018. They launched The Final Campaign, a massive world tour that wrapped up in November of 2019. Now, after not performing for five years, the thrash metal legends are coming back with a vengeance. The group recently played headlining sets at two major North American festivals – Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois, and Louder Than Life in Louisville, Kentucky.
“Nothing compares to the 90 minutes when we’re on stage playing live, sharing that intense energy with our fans,” said Slayer frontman Tom Araya. “And, to be honest, we have missed that.”
Guitarist Kerry King adds, “Have I missed playing live? Absolutely. Slayer means a lot to our fans; they mean a lot to us. It will be five years since we have seen them.”
While the complete Riot Fest lineup is still forthcoming, Slayer will perform at Louder Than Life alongside Mötley Crüe, Slipknot, and Korn. Other featured acts include Judas Priest, The Offspring, Seether, Anthrax, Disturbed, Evanescence, Five Finger Death Punch, Sum 41, Body Count, Architects, Jinjer, and Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann, among many others.
January 15 – The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
January 17 – Spokane Live Casino – Spokane, WA
January 18 – Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA
January 19 – Roseland Theater- Portland OR
January 20 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC CANADA
January 22 – The Palace Theatre – Calgary, AB CANADA
January 23 – Midway Music Hall – Edmonton, AB CANADA
January 25 – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, MB CANADA
January 26 – The Fillmore – Minneapolis, MN
January 28 – The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
January 30 – The Majestic Theater – Detroit, MI
January 31 – House of Blues – Cleveland, OH
February 1 – Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON CANADA
February 2 – L’Olympia, Montreal – QC CANADA
February 4 – Royale, Boston – MA
February 5 – Theatre of the Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
February 7 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY
February 8 – Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MI
February 10 – Buckhead Theatre – Atlanta, GA
February 11 – Jannus Live – St. Petersburg, FL
February 13 – House of Blues – Houston, TX
February 14 – Emo’s, Austin – TX
February 15 – The Studio at the Factory -Dallas, TX
February 17 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
February 18 – Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
February 19 – The Nile Theater – Phoenix, AZ
February 21 – House of Blues – Las Vegas, NV
February 22 – The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA