Slayer guitarist Kerry King recently opened up about his evolving relationship with frontman Tom Araya, revealing that Araya is “not the guy I started the band with.”
In a conversation with Cucamonga’s Luiz Cesar Pimentel, King discussed how the death of Slayer’s founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman in 2013 impacted his bond with Araya. According to King, Hanneman’s passing hit Araya particularly hard.
“I think Jeff’s passing weighed harder on Tom than it did me,” King explained [via Blabbermouth]. “And I don’t mean that from any kind of friendship perspective. It’s just my taking wasn’t as bad as Tom took it. Of course, it was horrible, and no one ever wanted that to happen, but it really weighed on Tom.”
King believes that the emotional toll ultimately influenced Araya’s decision to step away from the band earlier than King had planned. Slayer officially announced their retirement in 2019, a decision King previously summed up by saying, “Tom was just done.” However, despite the split, Slayer recently reunited for several festival appearances, including Riot Fest, Aftershock Festival, and the upcoming Louder Than Life festival this September. They are also set to perform at Black Sabbath’s final hometown show in Birmingham this July.
Speaking about the unexpected reunion, King said, “Out of nowhere, Tom decided he wanted to play some shows last year, and I went, ‘Well, I never wanted to stop playing shows. So, yeah, let’s try it out.’”
When reflecting on their personal relationship, King shared that he and Araya were never particularly close outside of the band — and time has only made that distance greater.
“Just like it was in [the earlier years of] Slayer, [Araya and I] don’t talk on the phone. We rarely text each other. And that’s just because when you’re together for 40 years — he became a very different person. He’s not the guy I started the band with. Not personally — just him; he’s a different person,” King said. “I basically stayed very similar to who I’ve been in my twenties. And I like Tom. We’re cool.”
King described their recent reunion rehearsals and performances as comfortable, noting, “We got together [last year to rehearse for the Slayer reunion concerts]. It wasn’t weird. We did those two shows. He was super happy. We got together after the second one, had a shot after the show. He’ll drink tequila and I love tequila, so that’s what we had.”
As for Slayer’s future, King emphasized that their return wasn’t about launching a full-scale comeback, but rather about fulfilling missed commitments and reconnecting with fans.
“I think the first idea to play [with Slayer again] this year was for the [Louder Than Life festival] show we missed last year ‘cause of the hurricane,” King said. “So we rebooked that and [I] said, ‘If we never play another show, I wanna make that right with the promoter,’ because it wasn’t our fault. But he wanted us to play. So we’re playing there this year. And this year we get to play that Black Sabbath show. I can’t fucking wait.”
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