Slayer's Kerry King Reveals Dimebag Darrell Side Project That Never Was

Posted on Dec 25th 2009 8:00AM by Carlos Ramirez Comments
SlayerSide projects have become as prevalent in the metal world as pentagrams and Marshall stacks. Bands like S.O.D. and Ex Deo have proven that an excursion from a main project can be creatively invigorating. But there are some groups that don't really embrace the idea of letting their members indulge in side projects or other outside musical endeavors.

One of the most famous examples of this is when Metallica's Jason Newsted wanted to release an album from a band he was playing in called Echobrain. You know how that ended. Noisecreep spoke to Slayer's Kerry King, and we asked him if we can expect a side project from him in the near future.

The thing that sticks out when you first hear 'World Painted Blood' is the wide variety of songwriting styles on it. It casts a wider stylistic net than your last couple of albums.

Yeah, people have been saying that about this album. I just think the variety comes from our individual tastes and writing styles. On the songwriting side I am more of the thrash kind of guy. Jeff [Hanneman] goes for a much moodier feel when he's putting his stuff together. When you hear a Jeff song, you instantly know it. Tom [Araya] loves the more melodic songs, and he likes singing over those kinds of parts.

When we were under the gun to get this material done, I would go home and practice guitar by myself for 3-4 hours a night. I haven't done that in years.

I know you've done a lot of session stuff and guest appearances, but there has never been a full-on side project band. Have you ever thought of doing something like that?

I definitely have thought about it throughout the years. It's just that Slayer is the priority, and it takes up a lot of my time anyway. I have loads of friends that I would love to play with. I've actually played on some other people's records like the Beastie Boys and Pantera. That's always been fun to do when I get the chance.

Is there someone in particular that you would like to do something with?

I was good friends with Dimebag Darrell, and I spoke with him while he was in Damageplan. One day I called him and said I had I song idea I wanted him to contribute to. He asked, "What band would this be for?" or something like that (laughter). That project never got off the ground because of the tragedy that happened, but it would have been a lot of fun. We had a lot of the same influences. I'm talking about songs like 'Snortin' Whiskey' from the Pat Travers Band.

Filed under: Interview, Metal Minutia

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