Kerry King, the legendary guitarist from Slayer, recently opened up about his personal beliefs and songwriting approach in an interview with Metalshop TV.
During the conversation, King addressed misconceptions about his band and explained his perspective on writing devil-themed songs despite his atheist beliefs.
When asked “What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever heard about yourself?”, King reflected on the early misconceptions surrounding the band.
“It probably would have been the early days before I did a lot of interviews because when I do interviews that I go for it, you know, I’m not I’m not making anything up,” King said. “But in the early days there are so many things. We were Nazi fascists, Satan worshippers, among other things.”
King then clarified his approach to songwriting and his personal beliefs.
“I write songs about the devil, but to me it’s like writing short stories for a horror movie,” he explained. “Do I believe the devil’s going to come back and from hell I rise? No. But I wrote that in a perspective of myself actually. Do I believe the words to Crucifixion? Not one of them. But it’s a great song.”
The guitarist emphasized his commitment to transparency about his creative process.
“I just I write for entertainment and I make sure people know that so I don’t mislead anybody and give people fuel for the fire of, you know, saying we’re all about this, we’re all about that,” King continued. “No, I’m going to tell you straight up. I’m an atheist, but it’s not fun to write about.”
King’s candid remarks reflect his long-standing approach to both music and public perception throughout his career with one of metal’s most influential bands.
King’s creative philosophy stems from his deep appreciation for horror cinema. This has consistently influenced Slayer’s dark lyrical content. Last.fm reported that King has openly stated that his lyrics are heavily influenced by his love of horror movies. This explains why Satanic themes appear frequently in Slayer’s songs. He considers those who take the content literally as “dumb,” emphasizing that his focus remains on storytelling rather than promoting any particular belief system.
The guitarist’s journey with Slayer began over four decades ago when he co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981. Wikipedia documented that the two musicians discovered a shared passion for heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. This laid the groundwork for their iconic sound that would later define thrash metal.
King’s influence extends beyond just guitar work. He has been instrumental in shaping Slayer’s controversial image and lyrical direction. Simple Wikipedia noted that King is known for his distinctive appearance featuring tattoos and his aggressive guitar style. These became synonymous with the band’s brutal sound and helped establish Slayer as one of the “Big Four” thrash metal bands alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax.
Throughout Slayer’s career, King maintained his position as the band’s primary creative force. He continued to write provocative material that challenged religious and social conventions while maintaining his stance that the content serves purely as entertainment rather than ideological promotion.
