Slayer‘s Kerry King has been keeping busy with his solo career lately, especially after the release of his debut album From Hell I Rise last year. The album marked a fresh chapter for King, who has surrounded himself with a talented new band, featuring Paul Bostaph on drums (a fellow Slayer bandmate), Mark Osegueda of Death Angel on vocals, Kyle Sanders from Hellyeah on bass, and Phil Demmel on lead guitar. This marks King‘s first major personal project outside of Slayer, signaling his drive for new beginnings.
But in a recent interview with Scott Lipps, King revealed that another monumental collaboration nearly came to life before. This one involved his close friend Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, and also Zakk Wylde, who coincidentally would go on to become the successor of Darrell in the band.
When asked about whether there were talks of a potential collab between the three guitarists, King explained (via Ultimate Guitar): “I think we did it in different rooms. I know me and Dime talked about it. I think Dime and Zakk talked about it. Zakk and I never talked about it, but it was always up there, like those three dudes, because we were tight. I’m still tight with Zakk.”
King‘s connection with Dimebag Darrell was well-known, and his bond with the late guitarist was one of the most talked-about relationships in the rock world. King‘s reflections on their conversations reveal how the potential of this collaboration was discussed, but never fully realized. Before Darrell‘s tragic passing, the two guitarists had begun planning something concrete—a cover of Pat Travers’ classic “Snortin’ Whiskey.”
King recalled their conversation: “I remember I called Dime when Damageplan was coming out, and I said, ‘Dude, we need to do this song.’ He was like, ‘What song is that, King?’ I said, ‘We gotta do ‘Snortin’ Whiskey’, and you and I are gonna sing it.'”
The idea was something close to King‘s heart, with the two of them sharing vocals on a song that had deep roots in the hard rock scene. King continues, remembering the moment: “He’s like, ‘Cool. What are you gonna use it for?’ ‘No idea, whatever, whoever wants it once we do it.’ So, he’s trying to fit into the schedule, and he’s got all kinds of press going on. And I’m like, ‘Hey, we got time, don’t rush.'”
Sadly, the project never came to fruition. King expresses how devastated he was when Darrell was taken from the world before they could make their musical dream a reality: “And then, that tour was when he got taken out. And I was miserable. So, we never got to record it, but he was into it, and that would have been a good time.”
Source: metalinjection.net
