Slayer’s Kerry King knew his musical career wasn’t coming to an end on that very night, November 30, 2019, at the Los Angeles Forum, notably known as Slayer’s final show. King himself recognized it, stating:
“I knew early on that I wasn’t done, and I had no intention of not continuing to play.”
King more or less didn’t stop since the final show, where if it hadn’t been for the COVID pandemic, we might have heard new music as early as 2020. Now, the time has finally arrived to clear all rumors. The legend’s debut solo album, From Hell I Rise, is set to be released on May 17 via Reigning Phoenix Music.
Setting the record straight instead of the constant string of rumors, the official lineup for Kerry King’s solo project consists of drummer Paul Bostaph (Slayer), bassist Kyle Sanders (HellYeah), guitarist Phil Demmel (ex-Machine Head/Vio-Lence), and vocalist Mark Osegueda (Death Angel).
King teamed up with producer Josh Wilbur (KoRn, Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold, etc.), and his solo record was recorded at Henson Studios in Los Angeles for about two weeks and officially wrapped up this past June.
Wilbur comments:
“I didn’t know what to think, you know, it’s Kerry King from Slayer, who I’ve heard a million times. He’s a very strong presence. I wouldn’t say Kerry has an ego, but he has confidence in himself, which is a good thing. That’s what you want in your rock stars and in your band. He never comes off as a jerk or mean guy. But he does know exactly what he wants.
He doesn’t beat around the bush. He’s like, ‘I don’t want to do that, but I want to do this.’ Very direct, but it comes from a place of confidence, and not from a place of anything else. I really enjoyed working with Kerry.”
RPM co-founder and president Gerardo Martinez adds:
“All of us at RPM are very excited to be working with Kerry King, and it’s an honor to be working his first solo album. The joy of working on Slayer’s last album, Repentless, and to be reunited with my brother on his new musical journey doesn’t get any better!”
King himself says he’s nowhere near finished with creating new music:
“Even with a record in the can, I’ve still got so many songs that need to be finished. This is what I know how to do…number one being music, number two being metal. It’s been a part of my life for 40 years, and I’m nowhere near being done.”
To celebrate the long-awaited album reveal, today (5th) we also get to hear the debut track “Idle Hands.”
Listen to the song below and pre-order the album here:
