A chance meeting 35 years ago resulted in guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hannemann jamming Iron Maiden and Judas Priest songs. When they added bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and power drummer Dave Lombardo, the Big 4 thrash metal band Slayer was born.

Kerry Ray King was born in Los Angeles, CA, on June 3, 1964. He picked up his father’s Gibson ES-175 when he was 13 and started taking lessons. He made rapid progress and in 1981, sick of dead end jobs at miniature golf course and a pet store, was circling his Recycler for band auditions. One of those was for a southern rock band called Ledger. The band was crappy and the music not to his taste, but on the way out Kerry passed a rehearsal room where Jeff Hannemann and a drummer were jamming. He joined in and they played Iron Maiden and Judas Priest songs. By the time they were finished, Kerry and Jeff had agreed to start a band. Drummer Dave Lombardo lived a few blocks away and drove over one day. “Are you the guy with all of the guitars?” Kerry replied “I’ve got some guitars, but not all of them.” They agreed to jam at Dave’s place, and it went so well Kerry brought Jeff the next time. Dave knew Tom Araya and invited him, and Slayer's original lineup was set. They started out playing IM and JP covers at high schools in LA.

Slayer: Kerry King, Jeff Hannemann, Dave Lombardo, Tom Araya

Jeff died in 2013. Dave left, came back, and left again. But, Kerry and Tom have been with Slayer the whole time. Kerry has taken over as principal songwriter. He has also played on the Beastie Boys’ License to Ill, Pantera’s Reinventing Steel, and has appeared with Marilyn Manson and Megadeth. Kerry is Slayer’s fast picking lead guitarist. His preferred songs are dark and violent. Much of his writing reflects his abhorrence of all organized religion.

Slayer is touring in Europe this summer, and is scheduled to kick off a fall US tour at Jacobs Pavilion in Cleveland, OH, on September 9, 2016. Also on the bill are Anthrax and Death Angel.

Birthday wishes to Kerry King (52)