In a new interview with Igor Miranda of Rolling Stone Brasil, Kerry King confirmed that SLAYER will perform a BLACK SABBATH cover at Ozzy Osbourne and SABBATH‘s final concert on July 5 in Birmingham, England.
“It’s such an honor to even be thought of to play that, and I’m glad we were actually in the ‘working mode’ so we can get that offer,” he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “It’s gonna be awesome. And I drug my feet and picked our song really late, so when there weren’t as many obvious choices, but the one I picked is gonna work out really cool. I worked it out with my [solo] band, so me and Paul [Bostaph, SLAYER and KERRY KING drummer] could rehearse it. So we’ve already got it. We’ve just gotta get Tom [Araya, SLAYER bassist/vocalist] and Gary [Holt, SLAYER guitarist] on board whenever — probably in June we will rehearse for that. It’s gonna be killer. What we’re doing is cool.”
SLAYER famously covered SABBATH‘s “Hand Of Doom” for the “Nativity In Black II: A Tribute To Black Sabbath” album, which came out in 2000.
Taking place on July 5 at Villa Park, Ozzy‘s final concert — billed as “Back To The Beginning” — sold out in less than 10 minutes last month.
The all-star event will mark the first time that the original lineup of BLACK SABBATH — Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward — have played together in 20 years.
Also set to appear at the event are METALLICA, GUNS N’ ROSES, TOOL, SLAYER, PANTERA, GOJIRA, ALICE IN CHAINS, HALESTORM, LAMB OF GOD, ANTHRAX and MASTODON.
In addition, there will be a performance by a “supergroup of musicians” including Duff McKagan and Slash (GUNS ‘N’ ROSES),Billy Corgan (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS),Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT),K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST),Jake E. Lee (OZZY OSBOURNE),Wolfgang Van Halen (VAN HALEN, MAMMOTH WVH),Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE),Andrew Watt, Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS),David Ellefson (MEGADETH),Vernon Reid (LIVING COLOUR),Whitfield Crane (UGLY KID JOE),David Draiman (DISTURBED),Frank Bello (ANTHRAX),Jonathan Davis (KORN),Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM),Mike Bordin (FAITH NO MORE),Sammy Hagar, Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT),Scott Ian (ANTHRAX),Sleep Token II (SLEEP TOKEN) and Papa V Perpetua (GHOST).
“I’ve already thought about being at that show very early ’cause there’s a lot of my friends that are gonna be playing SABBATH songs, and I wanna see a lot of it,” King told Rolling Stone Brasil. “I’m sure the stage is gonna be a nightmare getting onto, so I’m hoping there’s live feeds backstage so we can just watch it and hear it. I wanna see METALLICA. I wanna see PANTERA. I wanna see Lzzy Hale, just to name a few.”
In a recent interview with Australia’s Wall Of Sound, King was asked which BLACK SABBATH album he would take with him if the planet was being blown up and we were all boarding a big spaceship and he was only allowed to take one SABBATH LP with him. He responded: ”I would take… It’s easy and it’s hard ’cause I’m a super [Ronnie James] Dio fan. But I would take [SABBATH‘s sixth studio album, 1975’s] ‘Sabotage’. Something about the vibe on that record. It’s cool. I mean, they’re all cool, but something about that one. Maybe ‘Symptom Of The Universe’. I don’t know. It’s nonstop badassery.”
Back in 2017, King picked “Sabotage” as one of his 10 favorite metal albums, telling Rolling Stone magazine: “‘Sabotage’ is just a very heavy record. There’s so much good stuff on there. As I picked these records, I picked the ones I’m compelled to play if I’m working out or driving, and ‘Sabotage’ was my choice for BLACK SABBATH. It has ‘Megalomania’, ‘Symptom Of The Universe’, which has definitely got attitude, ‘Hole In The Sky’. And it has the instrumental ‘Supertzar’. I love that one. It grips me for some reason.”
Last year, Kerry was asked by Metal Hammer Greece‘s TV show “TV War” if he has ever had a negative experience meeting one of his musical idols. He responded: “Yeah. Only once. And I won’t even tell you who, because he doesn’t deserve it. But nine times out of ten… The last one that I’ll say I got over the hump with, ’cause I was still such a fan, was [BLACK SABBATH‘s] Tony Iommi. And it was very late in our careers, but it’s fucking Tony; he’s the godfather of all this shit. I think it was, like, 2006, finally. And I knew him before that, but I couldn’t talk to him. It was Tony Iommi; I just couldn’t do it.”
Kerry continued: “in 2006 I went to the Classic Rock Awards in Britain. And I was presenting Tony with an award, and I was nervous as fucking all hell. I was out of my environment. I’ve done metal shows, I’ve done the [Revolver] Golden Gods billions of fucking times, but at the Classic Rock Awards, I was out of my element. Fucking Steven Tyler‘s [AEROSMITH] out there, AC/DC‘s out there, DEF LEPPARD‘s out there — people that I’ve admired in my history but didn’t know any of them. So I’m fucking shaking up there. I hit the mic when I’m talking. And I was just a fucking idiot. [Laughs] So, I get to give Tony his award, take a picture with him. Then I felt like we were bros. I was over the Tony hump, and that was cool.”
King added: “I’ve had a lot of heroes, be it from [JUDAS] PRIEST to SABBATH and whoever the hell, [DEEP PURPLE‘s] Ritchie Blackmore. But, yeah, Tony was the one. I had to climb that mountain and get over it.”
King‘s debut solo album, “From Hell I Rise”, was released in May 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music.
Joining Kerry in his new band are Mark Osegueda (vocals; DEATH ANGEL),Phil Demmel (guitar; MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE),Kyle Sanders (bass; HELLYEAH) and drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS).
All material for “From Hell I Rise” was written by the 60-year-old SLAYER guitarist. Helming the sessions at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles last year was producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BAD RELIGION, among others.
Source: blabbermouth.net
