Up until the launch of his solo career last year, Kerry King was Slayer through and through. After co-founding the notorious thrash metal rabble in 1981, the tattoo-domed terroriser held the fort, not only never leaving his band but also refusing to entertain any long-term project on the side. Well, apart from that one time…
In 1984, as Slayer were still finding their feet in the burgeoning Cali thrash scene, King found a side-hustle gigging with fellow high-speed agitators Megadeth. The partnership only lasted for five concerts, however, and it didn’t take long for King to return to his original band, more seasoned a player but also clearly unable to coexist with a leader as steadfast as Dave Mustaine.
The shows that King did with Megadeth were the band’s first five. Mustaine started the outfit with bassist David Ellefson after the singer/guitarist got booted from Metallica. He was driven to be faster, harder and more dangerous than his ex-cohorts, but the campaign got off to a stalled start, several members coming and going within the early months. By the time Mustaine, Ellefson and drummer Lee Rausch felt ready for the live arena, they needed a fourth man to round out their ranks.
Fortunately, King and Mustaine had history. The Slayer man told Loudwire in 2015: “This is certainly no offense against [Mustaine’s Metallica replacement] Kirk Hammett, Kirk’s a wonderful friend of mine, but I was lucky enough to see Metallica with Mustaine. I say that because it’s just a rare thing to be able to say!”
He continued: “I was so intrigued by Mustaine, because he was just ripping on guitar and looking out that way somewhere. I can’t do that to this fucking day!
