In a new interview, Slayer guitarist Kerry King looked back on his brief involvement with Megadeth during the band’s formative years, when he played second guitar for their first five shows.
King was already in Slayer at the time — “in between records,” as King recalled — but considering his admiration for Mustaine, he jumped at the chance to play alongside the Megadeth frontman.
“Well, I love Mustaine to this day,” King told Gastão Moreira on the “Bangers Open Air podcast (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “I think he’s one of the greatest guitar players out there — still. So when I caught — I don’t even remember how I heard that he wanted me to play second guitar to him. But I was flattered because even back then I thought he was awesome.”
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When asked if he ever considered exiting Slayer in favor of Megadeth, King replied: “I’m sure I probably did, but [Slayer] is where I belong.”
King went on to say that in hindsight, he “absolutely made the right choice” and that there would have eventually been disagreements between himself and the Megadeth founder.
“Me and Dave would’ve butted heads like no tomorrow,” King said. “It’s just his personality. I mean, look how many people have been in his band. Fifty? And that’s not me down-talking Mustaine. I like hanging with him for 20 minutes, and then you go away and ‘I’ll see you in a year.’”
Instead, Mustaine and King would go on to forge their respective legacies in Megadeth and Slayer, two of the “Big 4” of thrash metal. Both bands are still going strong, with Slayer reuniting last year to play festival and one-off concert appearances. The band has a handful of live dates throughout 2025, including some major headlining shows (with tickets available here.
Stream the full interview with Kerry King below.
Content shared from consequence.net.