Kerry King hopes Slayer don’t split soon

Kerry King doesn’t want Slayer to retire soon – because he insists there’s no chance of a change of mind once they have.

He’s been asked to discuss the possibility of a split on several occasions recently, after frontman Tom Araya appeared to suggest he was considering bringing his career to an end.

But the co-founding guitarist would rather look towards the follow-up to 2015 album Repentless.

King tells KLAQ 95.5 FM: “If I gear-down not to do this, I don’t want to come back and do it any more.

“I don’t want to be that band that goes away and comes back, and goes away and comes back. I want to play until we’re done, and be done with it.”

He adds: “Hopefully that’s not soon.”

In the meantime, he reports that while Slayer’s next record will include material not featured on Repentless, the extra tracks aren’t just “leftovers.”

“There’s two in there with vocals and leads,” says the guitarist. “Probably five more above that, and I’ve got one or two that I’ve been muddling around on tour, so there’s close to 10 already.

“That’s my cut-off. I want 10. I would like to get all that done before I go on tour again, at least the music. So I’m like, ‘Let’s tour again, I can make up lyrics when I’m bored.’”

He continues: “Maybe late next year, when the touring cycle stops again, that’s when we start thinking about recording – which is really fast for Slayer. Repentless has been out 13 months.”

Slayer’s Kerry King: My Life Story

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.