Kerry King
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kerry King | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | June 3, 1964 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Thrash metal, speed metal, heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1981 – present |
| Label(s) | American Recordings |
| Associated acts | Slayer, Megadeth |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| B.C. Rich KKV | |
Kerry King (born June 3, 1964 in Los Angeles, California) is a guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the thrash metal band Slayer.
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[edit] Biography
Kerry King was born June 3, 1964 in Los Angeles, California to a father who was an aircraft parts inspector and a mother who worked as a telephone company employee. In his teenage years, Kerry moved to Burlington, Ontario to attend Nelson High School and graduated as valedictorian. He has been married twice, and has a daughter named Shyanne Kymberlee King.[1]. His main influences are Judas Priest[2], Venom[2], Iron Maiden[2], Black Sabbath[2] and Deep Purple[2]. In 1981 King was trying out for the position as a 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 drummer. Hanneman mentioned "Why don’t we start our OWN band?” [Laughs] I was like, “…Fuck yeah!"[3] Like most heavy metal musicians, King had long hair, but then shaved his head when he started balding. His bald head, spiked wristband, and extensive tattoo work (which covers his hands, arms and head) are his trademarks, to such a degree that Blender included a tour of his body ink.[4]
King's acronym, KFK, was revealed to mean "Kerry Fucking King!" in the January 2007 Issue of Guitar World.[5]
[edit] Religion
King is an atheist, and he views organized religion as a crutch for people who are "too weak to make it through life on their own". He also goes on to say that, "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". He stated in the 2005 documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey that he feels religion is "the ultimate form of mind control that is perfectly legal." In the same documentary King says that he believes religion is a "load of shit". [6]
[edit] Lyrics
Perhaps Slayer's primary lyricist, King's songs are mostly based on Satanic subjects, which he attributes to his love of horror movies. He has stated he does not believe in God, and he does not believe in Satan, but he writes about Satanic subjects because he says it is more fun to write about Satan than God.[citation needed]
[edit] Personality
Henkka Blacksmith has described King as "a real metal guy, very real, and doesn’t try to be anything. He is just as he is. He is the same on stage and off stage. He is a really, really friendly dude, very polite, but very straight in ways of saying out loud his opinion. He’s not afraid to disagree. He is real!"[7]
[edit] Feuds
King has had well-publicized disagreements with several of his contemporaries, including a long-standing feud with Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, who attempted to persuade King to leave the "posers," "lame spikes," and "eyeliner" of Slayer behind and focus on Megadeth. Recently in GuitarWorld.com's Dear Guitar Hero, King "admires him to this day" as a guitarist, even though he considers Mustaine a "hypocrite".[8]
Another feud is with Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn, who claims that King started "talking shit about us out of nowhere."[9] King labeled Machine Head as “sell-outs” after the release of their 2001 album Supercharger. King continued to criticize the band stating "They're responsible for rap-metal", "they fooled me into thinking they're metal", "'they have no integrity left."[9] King and Flynn reportedly ended this feud backstage at the "Metal Hammer" awards show in London on June 11th 2007.
In 2006, Slayer's producer Rick Rubin lent production to Metallica's untitled ninth studio album, instead of Slayer for their album Christ Illusion. King deemed this action a "slap in the fucking face,"[10] labeling Metallica as a "sinking ship."[11]
[edit] Guest appearances
In addition to appearing on Slayer's albums, he has also made several guest appearances as lead guitarist. While lending production to 1986’s Reign in Blood, Rick Rubin was also helming production of the Beastie Boys debut album Licensed to Ill. Rubin felt the track "No Sleep till Brooklyn" needed a guitar solo, so he offered King several hundred dollars to lay down the part.[12] He also did the guitars on "Fight For Your Right (To Party)", and "She's Crafty". King has since commented that his playing ability "certainly wasn’t that of a virtuoso".[12] "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 though King refused.[12] King replied "If there’s gonna be anyone knocking anyone offstage, it’ll be me knocking the gorilla", which is what subsequently happened.[12] King has reminisced that he thought the Beastie Boys were cool, although never having heard any of their music at the time.[12]
King contributed a lead guitar outro part to Pantera’s song "Goddamn Electric", which appeared on the 2000 album "Reinventing the Steel".[13] King’s rig was set up in Pantera’s bathroom backstage just after Ozzfest in Dallas, as the group still didn't have their own dressing room on top of not appearing on the festival bill.[13] After King had finished the first take, Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell ran in and yelled "DON’T LET HIM DO IT AGAIN!"[13] King tried again with the hope he would find a superior rendition, though the first take was used.[13]
King also contributed lead guitar solos to the following songs; "Disorder" with rapper Ice-T (from the 1992 album "Judgment Night"), Rob Zombie’s "Dead Girl Superstar" (from the 2001 album The Sinister Urge), Hatebreed’s "Final Prayer" (from the March 2002 album Perseverance) and Sum 41’s "What We're All About (The Original Version)", (from the June 2002 released Spider-Man movie soundtrack).
Kerry King, who is a big wrestling fan, was the guest announcer for the match between Supreme and Kronus, the finals match of the death match tournament at the XPW event "Baptized in blood" on June 20, 2000. He was however announced by regular announcer Kris Kloss as the "lead singer of Slayer", which King immediately corrected by yelling "It's guitar" as soon as he was given the microphone. He entered the ring to the sounds of the Slayer song "Angel of Death" from the album Reign in Blood.
King has also made several guest appearances in Marilyn Manson's recent "Rape Of The World" tour, joining the band to play classic tracks such as "Little Horn" and "Irresponsible Hate Anthem". Many fan's noticed elements of King's own style used on these occasions. There are also rumours and hints from Manson that King may appear on Marilyn Manson's new album that they are recording during 2008.
[edit] Equipment
King favours neck-thru guitars in studio recordings and live performances.[14]
- B.C. Rich signature KKV and Warlock (KKW) guitars.
- Marshall JCM-800 2203KK Custom Amps[14]
- Celestion G12K-100 and Vintage 30 Speakers
- Dunlop .010-.046 Strings
- EMG 81 and 85 Pick-ups with EMG Afterburner
- Fernandes Sustainer
- TKL Cases
- MXR Smart Gate Pro
- MXR KFK 10 band EQ
- Shure UHF Wireless System
- Kahler Tremolo Systems
- Monster Cable
- In Tune Guitar Picks
- BOSS RGE-10 Graphic Eq[14]
- Marshall Mode Four 4x12" speaker cabinets with Celestion 12" speakers
- Dunlop DCR-1SR Rack Crybaby Wah
- Dunlop Kerry King Q-Zone pedal
- Dunlop Zakk Wylde Signature Wah Pedal
- Dunlop Dimebag Darrell Signature Wah Pedal
- After Dimebag Darrell was killed, King, a good friend of Darrell's, received a guitar designed by Dimebag and built by Dean. The guitar is shaped like a Razorback V with tribal designs in the finish reminescent of King's tattoos.
[edit] Snakes
Kerry is a long time and noted snake breeder, and is known to pop up at Southern California reptile events and pet shops with little notice. He currently specializes in carpet pythons. Kerry's snakes were recently shown in an interview with Blender.com.Kerry King's Obsessions: Snakes! Kerry King also participated in online chat discussions at the popular reptile web site kingsnake.com in 2005 and again in 2008.
[edit] References
- ^ Beck, Aaron (2007-02-10). After 25 years, Slayer keeps casting metal. The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
- ^ a b c d e (English)Kerry King interview
- ^ Davis, Brian. Knac.com interview with Jeff Hanneman. Knac.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
- ^ Tour of Kerry King's Tattoos, Blender Online, retrieved on March 2, 2007
- ^ King now lives in Corona, California in the gated community The Retreat, where he also belongs to their golf club. Lahtinen, Lexi (2004-11-04). Kerry King of SLAYER. Metal-rules.com. Retrieved on 2006-01-24.
- ^ Urban Dictionary: kerry king
- ^ http://www.metal-hammer.de/Children_Of_Bodom_Tunnelblick_Henkka_Blacksmith_talks_Metal_22_02_08-highlight-children-site-hammer.html
- ^ "Dear Guitar Hero: Kerry King">. Guitar World (2007-2-23). Retrieved on 2007-06-08.
- ^ a b MACHINE HEAD's FLYNN: 'I'm Disappointed In SLAYER's KERRY KING. Blabbermouth.net (2006-3-09). Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
- ^ SLAYER's KING Says RICK RUBIN's Collaboration With METALLICA Was 'Slap In The Face. Blabbermouth.net (2006-06-26). Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
- ^ Kerry King: Metallica Is 'Sinking Ship'. Ultimate-Guitar.com (2007-01-18). Retrieved on 2007-03-02.
- ^ a b c d e An exclusive oral history of Slayer. Decibel Magazine. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
- ^ a b c d Davis, Brian (2004-11-10). Exclusive! Interview With Slayer Guitarist Kerry King. Knac.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ a b c Matera, Joe (2006-08-04). Slayer's Kerry King: The Art Of Writing Songs That Nobody Else Can Write. UltimateGuitar.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
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