Slayer guitarist Kerry King dusted off his solo band for the first time in nine months on Saturday night (July 4), taking the stage at Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Fan-shot video of the set has since surfaced online.
King landed the slot under unusual circumstances, headlining the festival’s Miller Lite Oasis stage as a last-minute replacement for Megadeth. Dave Mustaine‘s band had pulled out of Summerfest back in April, citing an “unforeseen scheduling conflict.”
For King, it marked a notable live return after his solo project had gone quiet since a run of shows late last year. Per Setlist.fm, the 16-song set leaned on his solo material while working in a stack of Slayer classics and a Black Sabbath‘s cover.
Kerry King — Summerfest 2026 setlist:
- “Where I Reign”
- “Toxic”
- “Trophies Of The Tyrant”
- “Residue”
- “Two Fists”
- “Idle Hands”
- “Repentless” (Slayer song)
- “Rage”
- “Tension”
- “Crucifixation”
- “Disciple” (Slayer song)
- “Wicked World” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Shrapnel”
- “Raining Blood” (Slayer song)
- “Black Magic” (Slayer song)
- “From Hell I Rise”
The appearance comes as King works toward the follow-up to his solo debut, From Hell I Rise, which arrived in May 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music (and was given an expanded deluxe reissue on June 19 with five previously unheard demos). King was slated to enter the studio in April 2026 to begin tracking the next record, with a supporting tour lined up to launch in early 2027, according to Independent Artist Group, the agency that recently signed both Slayer and King‘s solo band for representation outside the U.S. and Canada.
King, who wrote all the material on From Hell I Rise and recorded it in 2023 at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, is joined in his solo band by vocalist Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), guitarist Phil Demmel (Machine Head, Vio-lence), bassist Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah) and drummer Paul Bostaph (Slayer). The now-62-year-old launched his first-ever headlining tour on January 15, 2025 at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, a trek featuring Municipal Waste as special guest and Alien Weaponry in support, which wrapped at the House of Blues in Las Vegas on February 22, 2025.
