If you were upset that Slayer called it quits in 2019, Kerry King agrees with you.
Speaking with Metal Hammer, the guitarist recalls his less-than-favorable reaction to talks of the “Raining Blood” metallers deciding to retire.
“Anger … what else?” King shares. “It was premature. The reason I say ‘premature’ is because my heroes from my childhood are still playing! I can still play, I still want to play, but that livelihood got taken away from me.”
Indeed, the other three “Big 4” thrash bands — Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax — have continued to tour since Slayer played their final show.
“But, anyway, on to the next chapter, I guess,” King says. “We were on top of the world, and there’s nothing wrong with going out on top of the world, it’s a good way to go out. So, bravo for that. But do I miss playing? Yeah, absolutely.”
King also laments that Slayer’s final tour, which ran from May 2018 to November 2019, didn’t exactly have a celebratory vibe.
“Every one of those shows was a bummer!” King says. “We were going to all these places and all these cities where we have all this history. It’s a bummer to think, ‘I’m not gonna see my friends there again.’ You’d get to that country and know you were going to see these people, and you’d see them yearly. I haven’t seen them now in three years. That sucks.”
“Slayer means a lot to our fans, and they mean a lot to us,” he adds. “I know I will see these people again, but no Slayer leaves a big hole for a lot of people.”
King previously hinted at his feelings over Slayer’s retirement in 2021, remarking that the group “quit too early.”
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