Kerry King has named the band he’d choose to replace in thrash metal’s Big Four. King played with Slayer from 1981 until their 2019 retirement, and the band recently reunited to play the occasional live show. The thrash icons were considered part of their genre’s Big Four with , and .
In an exclusive interview with , King is asked who would be in the modern Big Four of heavy metal. “Wouldn’t it still be the same? Ha!” the guitarist jokes to journalist Rich Hobson. He continues by saying the Big Four should be kept as it is, except with groove metal heroes there in Slayer’s stead.
“I don’t really know enough about 21st-century metal to speak too authoritatively on that, but I’d obviously pick Lamb Of God, who we’re playing a bunch of shows with,” King explains. “Beyond that, well, the other three of the Big Four still play,” he continued. “Maybe I’ll be a bro and let Lamb Of God take our spot up there with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth.
” Lamb Of God – who formed in Richmond, Virginia, in 1994 – toured with Slayer multiple times. The two bands joined forces for the 2006 Unholy Alliance Tour through North America and Europe, and played together again during Slayer’s worldwide farewell tour in 2018 and ’19. Lamb Of God were the only artist to support Slayer on every leg of that final run.
Slayer will play their first show in five years at Riot Fest in Bridgeview, Illinois, on September 22. Two further live dates have been announced, taking place at Louder Than Life in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 27 and Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California, on October 10. Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! King is currently pursuing a solo career and released his debut album, , this year.
His band are currently touring North America. See dates and get tickets . Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017.
Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Prog and Metal Hammer, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Guitar and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.
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