Mighty SLAYER are set to play in Sofia on 3 June - the second day of Loud Festival 2012.

We are talking to guitarist KERRY KING about the tour, what to expect in Sofia, the forthcoming new SLAYER studio record, spiders, the world of today and more...

an interview conducted by Vassil Varbanov

LISTEN HERE
 

HEY, KERRY HELLO, HOW ARE YOU MAN?
I'm good.

WHERE ARE YOU AT THE MOMENT?
I have a day off in my house for a change.

AMAZING! PLEASE, TELL US, WHAT ARE YOU UP TO NOW?
Just in between rehearsals. We started rehearsing this last week for the tour that's coming up. So, I'll be out of that today and tomorrow and will be back on Sunday.

BASICALLY, THE REASON TO HAVE YOU WITH US IS THIS FORTHCOMING SHOW OF YOURS AT THE LOUD FESTIVAL IN SOFIA, BULGARIA.OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME YOU PLAY IN BULGARIA, BUT CAN YOU TELL US, WHAT YOUR SETLIST WOULD LOOK LIKE ON THIS PARTICULAR TOUR IN EUROPE?
Um, I don't know the set list yet. I know what we've been playing, but when you do festivals, especially summertime festivals in Europe, your set times could be an hour and ten, 1:15h, and 1:30 h.

The hits are going to be in there, the stuff that all the fans come to see.

You know, we try to bring some different every year too, like we thought Gary a couple of songs he'd never played before.

Yeah, it will be a good history of what SLAYER has done.

OK, THE OTHER THING IS THAT WE ARE EAGER TO GET MORE NEWS ABOUT THE NEW STUDIO ALBUM YOU SHOULD BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WRITTING PROCESS FOR...WHAT STAGE ARE YOU AT THE MOMENT? 
We probably recorded two and a half - three weeks now.

We should do a week and a half in Hollywood, we did half a week.

We got four songs complete with guitars, bass. Two of those have them with vocals and they'll be done before we head up to England.
I am not sure how those are being planned to be put out yet, but till they'll be done, we got three other demoed that we thing of go and finish in August or September.

YOU'VE BEEN TRAVELING THE WORLD FOR YEARS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN KEEN IN MEETING WITH THE FANS...WHAT HAS BEEN THE WEIRDEST PRESENT THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM A FAN?
Ah, who knows, man. I got so many weird things over the years.

Usually, is when I do signing sessions in little music stores or something and people have access to me. They know they can see me, that’s why they bring stuff.

I don’t know,  maybe a saw blade. I got a circular saw blade once that some dude drew SLAYER all over. Didn’t sound like a weird thing, but it was pretty weird when I got it.

I AM LOOSING YOU FROM TIME TO TIME…KERRY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?
Yeah, I got you.

COSNIDERING THE FACT, THAT YOU ARE CONSTANTLY ON THE ROAD AND TRAVEL A LOT, YOU MUST HAVE A MUCH BETTER PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD TODAY THAN MOST OF THE POLITICIANS….

SO, IF YOU COMPARE  THE WORLD OF TODAY WITH…LET’S SAY THE WORLD OF TWO YEARS AGO, DO YOU FIND IT A BETTER PLACE?
I think, a lot of the political things are propaganda to make people feel good. Like on 9/11 eleven years ago, you know, the Trade center went down and they made all these different things in America and worldwide actually.

Well, getting on a plane is now so difficult, but at the end of the day is it really safer? Yeah, it’s safer, but it’s not as safer as it could be and the think that they make you not do, don’t really do anything.

So, other than that …the gas is too expensive.




YEAH, THE FIRST TIME I MET YOU GUYS WAS IN BERLIN, JUST THREE OR FOR DAYS AFTER SEPTEMBER 11 AND I REMEMBER YOU LAUGHING AT PANTERA FOR NOT COMING TO THE TOUR AND PREFERRED STAYING AT HOME….
Well, the funny thing about that story is that PANTERA was already in Europe. They flew home.

ANYWAY, LET’S TALK ABOUT JEFF HANNEMANN NOW. DO YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF SPIDER IT WAS AND WHERE THIS NASTY BITE HAPPENED, WAS IT IN AMERICA?
It was in America. I don’t know if anybody has made any kind of statement as what kind of spider it was. I certainly don’t know.

WAS IT AT HOME OR WHILE ON HOLIDAY?
I think it was at a friend’s house.  He was at somebody’s house, outside, in a pool or Jacuzzi or something.  

HOW’S JEFF FEELING AT THE MOMENT?
Well, he’s certainly not happy that he can’t tour, but, you know, he got to go to all this rehab to get ready  to be able to an hour and a half Slayer show.

I mean, it’s hard for me to get ready for that and I didn’t have anything happening to me. So, he’s just working on getting his body back in shape, so he can perform at the high intensity that we play at.

ALRIGHT, SO AS WE ARE DOING THE OFFICIAL FESTIVAL RADIO AT LOUD FESTIVAL, WE’LL MEET WITH YOU GUYS BACKSTAGE, THANKS FOR THAT ONE, HAVE A GREAT START OF THE TOUR, CHEERS MAN.
Thanks.

BYE! 

rights Tangra Mega Rock