Kerry King says he hasn’t seen Gary Holt in nearly five years ahead of Slayer festival reunion shows
“Don’t get used to this being a yearly event,” King says of the upcoming shows.
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Slayer’s scheduled festival dates are due to kick off in September, but Kerry King says he hasn’t seen fellow guitarist Gary Holt in nearly five years.
The thrash metal outfit are to perform at three festival dates this year in the US – Louder Than Life, Riot Fest and Aftershock. The dates came as a surprise to fans, who were under the belief that Slayer had retired for good in 2019.
King wasn’t ready to hang up his guitar just yet, and shared on multiple occasions that he was unhappy with the decision to retire. He has since released his debut solo record, From Hell I Rise, which he nearly asked Holt to join him on guitar for.
In an interview with ClassicRockHistory.com, King has now shared his thoughts on what lies ahead for the band, “It’s not really much different at all. It’s the same heads, same cabs, same pedals, same guitars. You know, there will be a lot of fire when Slayer plays, and I think, yeah, those shows will just be fun,” he says.
“It’ll be fun to play with Gary Holt for a few gigs; I haven’t seen him in almost five years, so that will be cool. And it’ll be cool to get together with Tom Araya [bassist/vocalist] and spit some hate out at people, but don’t get used to this being a yearly event.”
After the festival announcements Holt’s wife, Lisa Holt, spoke out against fans who accused the band of cash-grabbing: “To all the people saying ‘They are liars,’ ‘They must have ran out of money,’ ‘It’s not Slayer without so and so,’ I have an idea for you all… Don’t go…” She wrote on Facebook.
Find out more about the festival dates via Slayer’s website.