In a heartfelt Instagram post, Gary Holt, guitarist of the thrash metal band Slayer, recalled the emotional weight of their last concert at the Forum in Los Angeles. Remembering their last concert, he compared it to a funeral. He stated:
“Four years ago today…. The final show. Such a moment, one I’ll never forget. I always post this photo because it’s the final band shot ever taken, on our way to the stage, and we look nervous as Fuck. Because we were. We look like we are headed to our own funerals. It never hit me until this day, the end drawing closer. What a ride it was. I’ve got mad love for these dudes, our management, the crew, always treated me with crazy respect. Family. I miss these people. Got to share this ride with a lot of family and friends and it was epic. Wish Paul Baloff, Toby Rage, and Jimmy Lapin (among others) were alive to have seen it, my only regret”
Slayer Members Think They Quit Too Soon
In 2021, Kerry King said in a video to celebrate Machine Head’s 30th anniversary that Slayer broke up too soon. He said:
”Apparently, it’s 30 years, which is quite an achievement. Not a lot of bands get there… We did, and then we quit too early.”
In 2022, when asked about Kerry King’s comments, Gary Holt said that he agreed with Kerry that they had parted early. In an interview with Metal Hammer, he said:
“I’d have to agree. We were still playing at the top of our game, we were totally killing it. The band had a lot of years left in it, but I guess when it’s time, it’s time. When you decide to walk away from something, walk away. I can’t tell anybody they made the wrong decision. Better to go out on top than go out unable to play your own songs, and this shit isn’t easy. Playing Angel Of Death at 70 years old would be fucking hard. But it was time for me to come back, let’s put it that way. I was really missing my first family.”
Slayer’s disbandment in 2019 was a tough choice that may have led to some regrets.
Kerry King Is Working On New Music
There has been talk of a Kerry King solo album since Slayer ended their career in 2019. But in 2022, we received updates from Kerry King, who revealed that one of the members of the band he put together to record the album was his Slayer partner Paul Bostaph. To Metal Hammer, Kerry King said:
“We just started rehearsing and the only person I can give away is Paul because I took him from Slayer and we work very well together. We didn’t start rehearsing until the end of March, and that was the first time since that last Slayer show at the end of 2019 that me and Paul finally got into a room together.”
Kerry King’s solo career has been a bit slow, but we may soon see his chain swinging on the stage again.
