Best known as Slayer’s co-lead guitarist and songwriter, as well as an avid snake collector with his own reptile house and herpetology nursery, Kerry King is one of the architects of thrash metal, having written or co-written iconic songs like “Raining Blood,” “Hell Awaits,” and Mandatory Suicide.” His kinetic, caustic, and chaotic riffs have fueled over four decades of music from the California band, which, alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax, helped define the scene in the mid- to late ’80s and early ’90s. When Slayer went on hiatus in 2019, King elected to pursue a solo career, releasing his debut album, From Hell I Rise, in 2024.

Hell Awaits
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kerry Ray King picked up the guitar at 13 and never looked back. Inspired by shredders like Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing of Judas Priest, Eddie Van Halen, Ted Nugent, Ronnie Montrose, Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, Adrian Smith, and Randy Rhoads, he co-founded Slayer in 1981 alongside Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, and Dave Lombardo. The group’s uncompromising attitude, breakneck pace, technical prowess, and antitheist lyrics helped shape the West Coast thrash scene, and seminal albums like Hell Awaits, Reign In Blood, and Seasons in the Abyss helped cement Slayer’s status as one of the world’s most influential and revered extreme metal bands.

King and Araya — Hanneman passed away in 2013 — remained with the group for 43 years, releasing 12 studio albums, three live albums, a box set, six music videos, two extended plays, and a covers album before going on hiatus in 2019. King conscripted a murderer’s row of metal greats for his debut solo effort that included Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph, Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda, Hellyeah bassist Kyle Sanders, and Vio-lence and former Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel. Released in 2024, From Hell I Rise delivered a punitive set of new thrash standards using Slayer’s sonic template.