Swedish Drummer Says ‘Up Yours’ to Slayer Guitarist Kerry King

Slayer guitarist Kerry King is not the type of guy we'd f--- with. We repeat: He is not someone we'd mess with, even if we were defending ourselves. Mr. King is a bad ass of the highest order, and not to mention one of our favorite metal guitarists.

However, Swedish drummer Adrian Erlandsson -- who has an impressive resume littered with extreme metal bands like At the Gates, Brujeria and Cradle of Filth and who now mans the kit for doomy goth haulers Paradise Lost -- sent a photographic message to King in response to a nearly 10-year-old interview in which King insulted his playing style.

The photo, posted on the time keeper's Lockerz account, features a bent bass drum beater and bears the caption: "Up yours, Mr. King. Soft hitters don't bend bass drum beaters."

Yikes! Here's the backstory as to why Erlandsson is sending such a bold and brutal message to King, almost a decade later.

In an interview the axeman conducted with Swedish magazine Close-Up in 2002, King discussed Slayer's drummer situation, which was nebulous at the time as Paul Bostaph was out and Dave Lombardo was on the cusp of returning. When asked if Slayer were open to the possibility of employing a drummer from the fertile metallic region that is Sweden, King was dismissive and a bit insulting. He said. "I haven't seen a lot, but the only thing I've seen is a lot of soft hitters. Like the guy in Cradle of Filth."

"The guy in Cradle of Filth" was Erlandsson. King then said, "He hits everything, but he hits like a f--. This is Slayer; people expect more." We understand that fans expect a Slayer skinsman to smash away till his arms and legs fall off, but there was no need for such name calling! Sounds like Erlandsson still harbors bitterness over those comments.

We're wondering if, when and how KK will respond.