High among Revolver's list of 2024's most anticipated albums is the debut LP from former Slayer guitarist Kerry King's new band. No release date has been announced as of yet, but the group — which also includes King's Slayer bandmate Paul Bostaph on drums — is booked to play two U.S. shows this spring: May 9th at the Welcome to Rockville festival in Florida, and May 16th at the Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival in Ohio.
In a new interview with Metal Hammer, King shared some choice details about the band and the album — and underlined that, to him, the project is very much "an extension" of his former band.
"If I was ever to try anything different [from Slayer], I guess that would be the time. But no, I really have no desire to do anything different," King said, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. "If I wasn't in Slayer, I would be a Slayer fan. So yes, I think it's an extension of Slayer, and I think a lot of people will think it might have been the next record. I guess maybe 80 percent of it would have been, maybe it would have been exactly what I'm putting on this one. In my eyes, I think it's a definite extension, a follow-up to [Slayer's 2015 final album] Repentless for sure."
Beyond the Slayer comparison, King offered more specific hints as to the sound of the forthcoming album. "There's definitely some fast stuff on it," he said. "It's not the fastest thing I've ever done, but I've done some pretty fast stuff. There's definitely some Herculean speeds getting achieved on this, but there's heavy stuff. There's punky stuff. There's doomy stuff. Pretty much any aspect of any kind of music we've done in our history, I think you'll find on this record."
King added: "For me, the slowest [song] is similar in vibe to [Repentless track] 'When The Stillness Comes'. That one came out really cool and spooky. And then there was one where my entire intention was to write something like the Scorpions' 'Animal Magnetism' crossed with the 'chug' of 'Hell Awaits.' That one came together pretty early. I like that song a lot. I mean, I like all of them a lot, but that one, that one's got a different vibe for sure."
King didn't reveal the identities of any of the other members of the group, but he noted that it's his hope that "everybody that's on the record is going to be in the band, hopefully for its entirety."
Stay tuned for more.
