Kerry King On Slayer’s Rock Hall Of Fame Induction: ‘The Voting And Election Process Is A Little Faulty’

Slayer guitarist Kerry King recently offered his candid thoughts on the band’s conspicuous absence from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, questioning the institution’s process while admitting a fan-driven induction would still be a significant honor. Despite Slayer‘s undisputed impact on thrash metal and their eligibility for induction for many years, they have yet to even appear on a nomination ballot.

Speaking with Billboard Brasil, King expressed a mix of bewilderment and characteristic bluntness regarding the oversight. “Pfft. Why don’t we see them there yet? [Laughs] I don’t know,” King said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “We’ve never even been on the nomination list, so I don’t know what they’re waiting for. How many more decades do we have to play? Forty years isn’t enough, I guess. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

While King doesn’t view a Rock Hall induction as a defining measure of his career, he acknowledged the personal significance it might have held. “Is it something that’s gonna make my career complete? Absolutely not,” he stated. “If my parents were alive, I would be stoked if we got in there so I can say, ‘Hey, mom, I’m in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.’ That would be cool.”

However, King didn’t shy away from critiquing the institution itself. “To me, if it happens, it happens, ’cause, obviously, the voting process and the election process is a little faulty,” he remarked, adding with a laugh, “So we’ll see. And me here badmouthing it probably isn’t helping my situation.”

Despite his criticisms, the idea of being recognized, particularly by the fans, resonates with him. “If we ever got nominated and the fans elected us to be in, it would be honorable, for sure, just to say these kids from Los Angeles got together and ripped the world a new f**king a**hole,” King declared.

Acknowledging Slayer‘s pivotal role in shaping heavy metal, King said, “Yeah, we were part of it, for sure. There was a movement of a lot of bands, ironically at the same time, that came out and then put thrash on the map.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has faced ongoing criticism for its perceived neglect of influential hard rock and heavy metal acts. Bands like Iron Maiden and Motörhead remain uninducted despite long periods of eligibility and undeniable impact. In contrast, Guns N’ Roses were inducted in their first year of eligibility, while metal godfathers Black Sabbath were inducted in 2006 and Metallica followed in 2009. Judas Priest received the Musical Excellence Award in 2022 after years of eligibility. The Rock Hall‘s criteria, including “influence and significance,” are often seen as subjectively applied.

This sentiment was famously echoed by Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson in 2018, who called the Rock Hall “an utter and complete load of bollocks run by a bunch of sanctimonious bl*ody Americans who wouldn’t know rock and roll if it hit them in the face.”

Interestingly, despite his reservations about the induction process, King did share a positive experience visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland, Ohio. “I went to [the museum] thinking I’d be there for, like, a half hour… I was in there for four hours, and there’s a lot of cool stuff in there,” he admitted.

Ultimately, Kerry King‘s stance reflects a pragmatic view: while an induction isn’t a career necessity, recognition of Slayer‘s groundbreaking legacy, especially if driven by their dedicated fanbase, would be a welcome, if overdue, honor.