It’s sort of hard to imagine Slayer guitarist Kerry King in another established metal band given that his unique style and look makes him so synonymous with the group he helped co-found in 1981. King did, however, almost join fellow Big Four outfit Megadeth.
In a new Q&A session with Metal Hammer, King was asked what other band he would have played in if given the choice. “I was almost in Megadeth,” he said. “I think if myself and Dave Mustaine could have co-existed for four years, it would have been a very different band. I’m not saying I’d have made them better – I’d have made them different.”
King actually played Megadeth’s first five shows as the band’s second guitarist, but previously said: “I don’t know how anybody can be in Megadeth for more than a couple of hours, ’cause that guy’s crazy,” referring to Mustaine.
King also told Metal Hammer about another band he would’ve definitely joined if given the opportunity. “It’s funny, I was backstage at Mercyful Fate’s show in Las Vegas and got talking to (guitarist) Hank Shermann, and said to him, ‘I thought you guys might come knocking’, and you could see his head explode. (Shermann said:) ‘It never f*cking occurred to me!’ I’m a huge Mercyful Fate fan so I’d have done that in a heartbeat.”
King continued: “I’d also love to play with Judas Priest. That brief second where Richie Faulkner got sick and they suggested going out with one player, I thought if they called me and said, ‘Can you be that one guitarist?’, I honestly don’t think I could, because they’re such a dual guitar band. Thankfully they never did it, but if they’d have asked, I think it would have been the hardest ‘no’ of my life.”
