Kerry King Addresses Whether Slayer Will Record New Music

In a new interview, Kerry King addressed whether the upcoming Slayer reunion shows will lead to new music or a full tour from the band.

Slayer played their final shows in late 2019, and this past February, the guitarist revealed that he hadn't spoken to former bandmate Tom Araya since then. Instead, he'd been working on his own solo project in that time, and released his first single "Idle Hands" on Feb. 5.

Thus, the metal world was really taken by surprise on Feb. 21 when Louder Than Life and Riot Fest shared their 2024 lineups, which both featured Slayer as a headliner. However, despite the handful of reunion performances, King asserted that the band will not work on new music, nor will they embark on an actual traveling tour.

"For me, it’s three shows marking five years since our final shows, a fun, ‘Hey, remember us from before the pandemic?’ celebration," the rocker told Metal Hammer in a new interview [via The PRP].

King also admitted that he wasn't thrilled about the timing of the reunion announcement, as he had just publicly launched his solo band and announced his album From Hell I Rise a few weeks prior.

What's most surprising, though, is that King told Metal Hammer that at the time of the interview, he and Araya still hadn't spoken.

“It’s not like I’m angry with him or anything. We’re very different people, and we evolved into business partners at the end of the day. He has very different interests from me, and very different outlooks. Does that make me hate him? No," King elaborated.

"But I don’t need to talk to him every day… We just don’t have much in common. When it comes time to rehearse, I’ll have no problem showing up. We’re professionals, and that’s what we do.”

In addition to Louder Than Life and Riot Fest, Slayer will also headline Sacramento's Aftershock Festival on Oct. 10.