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Template:Guitarist infobox

Kerry King (born June 3 1964 in Los Angeles, California) is guitarist and backing vocalist, best known as a founding member of the thrash metal band Slayer.

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 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 songs. King mentioned "Why don't we start our OWN band?", Hanneman replied "...fuck yeah!". 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.

King's acronym, KFK, was revealed to mean "Kerry Fucking King!" in the January 2007 Issue of Guitar World.

Style

Over the years, Kerry King's guitar style has remained the same, giving him a very distinctive sound. On earlier Slayer albums up to and including South of Heaven his playing focused more on speed and chaos than melody. However, in his post-Seasons In The Abyss work, Kerry has managed to capture more feel to his guitar work, showcasing more diverse and melodic styles. Aside from his strong rhythm work, he is also recognised for his distinctive and unique lead guitar work which critics disparage with definitions such as: 'grab the guitar neck and hang from the whammy bar as if your life depends on it'. However, despite such criticisms, it must be noted that King almost singlehandedly created an entirely new style of guitar soloing, and his influence is prevalent in countless metal bands, particularly thrash and death metal bands, where diatonicism is less important than in traditional rock and metal.

Lyrics

King's lyrics 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 sing about Satan than God. King actually dislikes all organized religion and describes it as a "crutch" for people who are "too weak to get through life on their own." Kerry then goes on to say, "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".

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. Mustaine proceeded to tell Araya he "liked it when he sucked his dick" resulting in a feud between the two bands. Another feud is with Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn, who claims that King started "talking shit about us" out of nowhere."

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." 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," labeling Metallica as a "sinking ship."

Guest appearances

In addition to appearing on Slayer's albums, he has also made several guest appearances as lead guitarist, including:

• "No Sleep Till Brooklyn", from the Beastie Boys album Licensed to Ill. He also had a guest appearance in the video for the song.
• "Final Prayer", from the Hatebreed album Perseverance
• "Dead Girl Superstar", from the Rob Zombie album The Sinister Urge
• "Goddamn Electric", from the Pantera album Reinventing The Steel
• "What We're All About (The Original Version)", by Sum 41 from the Spider-Man movie soundtrack
• "Disorder", with rapper Ice-T from the 1992 album "Judgment Night"

Equipment

King favours neck-thru guitars in studio recordings and live performances.

• Marshall JCM-800 Amps
• Celestion G12K-100 and Vintage 30 Speakers
• Dunlop .009-.042 Strings
• EMG 81 and 85 Pick-ups
• 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
• Marshall 4x12" speaker cabinets with Celestion 12" speakers
• Dunlop DCR-1SR Rack Crybaby Wah
• Dunlop Q-Zone pedal
• Dunlop Zakk Wylde Signature Wah
• B.C. Rich signature KKV.

Snakes

Kerry is a long time and noted herpetoculturist and snake breeder who is known to pop up at Southern California reptile events and pet shops with little notice. In 2005, he participated in an online chat discussion with both music and snake fans at the popular online reptile community kingsnake.com where he discussed both his involvement with Slayer and his interest in reptiles.

References

1. Beck, Aaron (2007-02-10). "After 25 years, Slayer keeps casting metal". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
2. Davis, Brian (2004-7). "Knac.com interview with Jeff Hanneman". Knac.com. Retrieved 2006-12-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. Tour of Kerry King's Tattoos, Blender Online, retrieved on March 2, 2007
4. Lahtinen, Lexi (2004-11-4). "Kerry King of SLAYER". Metal-rules.com. Retrieved 2006-01-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. ^ "SLAYER's KERRY KING: 'My Thing Is Rebelling Against Organized Religion". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-8-4. Retrieved 2006-01-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. "Musicians - Dave Mustaine". Monstersandcritics.com. Retrieved 2006-01-18.
7. ^ "MACHINE HEAD's FLYNN: 'I'm Disappointed In SLAYER's KERRY KING". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-3-09. Retrieved 2006-12-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "MACHINE HEAD's FLYNN: 'I'm Disappointed In SLAYER's KERRY KING" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
8. "SLAYER's KING Says RICK RUBIN's Collaboration With METALLICA Was 'Slap In The Face". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-06-26. Retrieved 2007-02-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. "Kerry King: Metallica Is 'Sinking Ship'". Ultimate-Guitar.com. 2007-01-18. Retrieved 2007-03-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. ^ Matera, Joe (2006-08-04). "Slayer's Kerry King: The Art Of Writing Songs That Nobody Else Can Write". UltimateGuitar.com. Retrieved 2007-02-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. Kingsnake.com Kerry King Interview

• 1964 births
• American heavy metal guitarists
• California musicians
• Living people
• People from Los Angeles
• Slayer members
• Megadeth members