• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

METAL MAYHEM: SLAYER TALK DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

Written by DAVE WEDGE Posted July 23, 2015 Filed Under: Interviews, MUSIC

MU_Slayer_728

The secret Slayer show at The Sinclair a couple months back was one of the hottest tickets in town and proved one of the more memorable nights in recent Boston metal history. But for Slayer frontman Kerry King, the Converse Rubber Tracks show was just another gig.

 

“I don’t remember much about it,” he tells DigBoston from a recent Mayhem Festival stop in Milwaukee. “The only thing I remember about that show is their somewhat animated video backdrop.”

 

He was referring to the scrolling graffiti screen provided by Converse, which stood out because it was a big departure from the usual blasphemous video imagery that usually accompanies a Slayer show.

 

Backdrops aside, the Sinclair show was a stark reminder that Slayer is one of the few bands – in metal or any genre, really – that can effortlessly eviscerate just about any venue. No matter where you see them – and Saturday it will be headlining the Xfinity Center in Mansfield for the all-day Rockstar Mayhem Festival – they make one thing clear: they are the loudest, fastest, most badass speed metal band to have ever graced this planet.

 

“We are rolling with the biggest show we have ever taken anywhere,” he says. “Being the sole headliner, we felt that we had to bring it. Visually it’s the biggest show we’ve ever done.”

 

The legendary Bay Area thrash band are still settling in with guitarist Gary Holt and drummer Paul Bostaph, who replaced the late Jeff Hanneman and ex-drummer Dave Lombardo, both of whom were founding members. The band’s upcoming new album, Repentless, comes out in September and is Bostaph’s first with Slayer since 2001 and the first ever without Hanneman, who died of liver failure in 2013.

 

“For Gary, I thought a very long time about how I wanted to incorporate Gary,” King explains. “I didn’t think Slayer fans, as awesome and loyal as they are, were ready for someone outside the circle to contribute to this record. At the same time, I wanted Gary to feel like he contributed. So we landed on him doing solos. I think the recording is awesome and live it’s awesome. It’s got to be awesome for him to be playing solos he wrote and not just playing covers anymore.”

 

The band is also transitioning to a new label after nearly three decades with Rick Rubin’s American, signing instead with German metal powerhouse Nuclear Blast. “Their offer wasn’t even in the same ballpark, which I expected,” he says of Rubin’s label. “Beyond financially, I liked Nuclear Blast. Nuclear Blast is a place where [employees] go to get paid and they love it.”

 

As for Mayhem, it’s Slayer’s third headlining run on the annual summer festival. They’ll be joined on the main stage by King Diamond, Hellyeah, and Dayton, Ohio metalcore stalwarts The Devil Wears Prada. The second stage lineup includes White Chapel, Thy Art Is Murder, Jungle Rot, female-fronted Swedish band Sister Sin and Shattered Sun. “In my mind, Mayhem is just the new Ozzfest. It’s the exact same fucking bands, without Black Sabbath or Ozzy,” he says, laughing. “At the end of the day, there will be the next Mayhem. That’s what happened to Ozzfest. They ran out of bands. The cycle runs out.”

 

King talks openly and occasionally jousts with the press, such as when he recently made comments about not liking the music of mysterious Satan-worshipping Swedish band Ghost. The story went viral, but King said it was overblown.

 

“The problem with doing interviews is that whoever you’re doing the interview with may or may not have bad intentions,” he says. “They didn’t see the part where I said they were wonderful dudes. I said I love the imagery. I tried to like their music, but it’s just not my thing. Somehow that became ‘Kerry King hates fucking Ghost.’ Whatever I say is just taken out of context for the furthering of whatever crappy website they write for.”

DAVE WEDGE
More from author
  • DAVE WEDGE
    https://digboston.com/author/dave-wedge/
    WIN-WIN FOR WYNN: THE SHOW WILL GO ON IN EVERETT
  • DAVE WEDGE
    https://digboston.com/author/dave-wedge/
    EXCLUSIVE BOOK EXCERPT: ICE BUCKETS AND EDIBLES
  • DAVE WEDGE
    https://digboston.com/author/dave-wedge/
    COVERING DESTRUCTION: A BOSTON WRITER REFLECTS ON FATEFUL ASSIGNMENT 15 YEARS LATER
  • DAVE WEDGE
    https://digboston.com/author/dave-wedge/
    LET’S DO THE VANS WARPED TOUR AGAIN

Filed Under: Interviews, MUSIC Tagged With: Boston, Cambridge, Dig, DigBoston, Interview, King Diamond, Mansfield, metal, Rockstar Mayhem Festival, Slayer, The Devil Wears Prada, The Sinclair, Xfinity Center

WHAT’S NEW

WU ASSERTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTS IN HER CAMPAIGN

WU ASSERTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTS IN HER CAMPAIGN

STREET MEDICS BOLSTER PROTESTS IN MORE WAYS THAN YOU MAY REALIZE

STREET MEDICS BOLSTER PROTESTS IN MORE WAYS THAN YOU MAY REALIZE

HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP

HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HONORED, SPEAKERS ADDRESS RACISM

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HONORED, SPEAKERS ADDRESS RACISM

FORMER MASS GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE PREDICTED VIOLENCE BEFORE ASSAULT ON CAPITOL

FORMER MASS GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE PREDICTED VIOLENCE BEFORE ASSAULT ON CAPITOL

PRISON HORRORS BY THE NUMBERS

PRISON HORRORS BY THE NUMBERS

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • APPOINTED SOMERVILLE OFFICIAL SPURS OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC MOB SCENE by MARC LEVY
  • Aerial View Parkman Bandstand at Boston Common. CC BY-SA 4.0 2017 by AbhiSuryawanshi. NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM by MATTHEW ANDREWS
  • VIDEO: COP WHO BRAGGED THAT HE HIT PROTESTERS SHOWS HOW BAD APPLES THRIVE IN BOSTON by CHRIS FARAONE
  • PRISON HORRORS BY THE NUMBERS by SARAH BETANCOURT
  • IT’S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT’S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT? by ZACK HUFFMAN

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

Footer

digbos

HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO A HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP https://digboston.com/no-justice-how-officials-in-one-mass-town-took-extraordinary-measures-to-appease-a-controversial-cop/ #ArlingtonMA #police #reform #cop #racism #controversy #BlackLivesMatter #Massachusetts
Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for host Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for hosts, servers, bartenders, bussers … What happens to those #jobs if virtual kitchens continue to flourish? https://digboston.com/ghost-story-virtual-kitchens-appear-to-be-the-next-big-thing-but-at-what-cost/ #restaurant #labor #work #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
“I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan “I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan. 7 in the same country we went to bed in on the 6th.” https://digboston.com/former-mass-gubernatorial-candidate-predicted-violence-before-assault-on-capitol/ #politics #Massachusetts #national #Capitol #WashingtonDC #MAGA
RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL http RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL https://digboston.com/radical-and-relevant-the-life-of-harry-brill/ #obituary #organizer #radical #sociologist #democracy #politics @UMassBoston @BklynCollege411 @UCBerkeley #Boston #Massachusetts #NewYorkCity #Berkeley #California
NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 #PROTEST ON BOSTON CO NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 #PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM https://digboston.com/no-honeymoon-for-biden-1-20-protest-on-boston-common-4-pm/ #opinion #progressive #left #action #inauguration #Boston #Massachusetts
Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this lat Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this latest incarnation of a #beer that’s been in the making for months. https://digboston.com/video-jacks-abby-x-boston-celtics-pride-and-parquet-hoppy-lager-unboxing-tasting/ #fun #video #review #Boston #Massachusetts
Jostling for position and influence are the disadv Jostling for position and influence are the disadvantaged candidates, existing industry participants, and municipalities … https://digboston.com/the-road-to-home-delivery-pt-5-dogs-in-the-fight-identifying-the-players/ #cannabis #politics #analysis #Massachusetts
The candidates will be interviewed about the upcom The candidates will be interviewed about the upcoming race. https://digboston.com/wu-and-campbell-to-speak-at-mayoral-candidate-webinar/ #politics #mayor #campaign #Boston #Massachusetts
Participants took to the streets in the hope of sw Participants took to the streets in the hope of swaying the Biden administration. https://digboston.com/on-national-day-of-action-protesters-call-for-eviction-moratorium/ #housing #justice #protest #national #Boston #Massachusetts
“They refuse to respond to this humanitarian cri “They refuse to respond to this humanitarian crisis where people really need them. We’re just ignoring this problem and it’s getting worse and worse.” https://digboston.com/its-harder-than-ever-to-find-a-bathroom-in-boston-whats-the-city-doing-about-it/ #politics #unhoused #homeless #bathroom #public #health #Boston #Massachusetts
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]