In a revealing interview with Metal Hammer, Kerry King reacted to the initial suggestion of splitting Slayer with fierce displeasure – he went as far as labeling it “premature.” His first response was nothing less than sheer rage.
When the subject of concluding their musical journey was brought up, King recollected his initial thoughts: “Anger… what else? It was premature. The reason I say ‘premature’ is because my heroes from my childhood are still playing! I can still play, I still want to play, but that livelihood got taken away from me.
“But, anyway, on to the next chapter, I guess. We were on top of the world, and there’s nothing wrong with going out on top of the world, it’s a good way to go out. So, bravo for that. But do I miss playing? Yeah, absolutely.”
In addition, Kerry expressed that the farewell tour had a profound emotional impact on him: “Every one of those shows was a bummer! We were going to all these places and all these cities where we have all this history,” he said. “It’s a bummer to think, ‘I’m not gonna see my friends there again.’ You’d get to that country and know you were going to see these people, and you’d see them yearly. I haven’t seen them now in three years.
“That sucks. And the fans, too. Slayer means a lot to our fans, and they mean a lot to us. I know I will see these people again, but no Slayer leaves a big hole for a lot of people.”
During the interview, the guitarist promised that his yet-to-be-named solo project will be something that Slayer fans will love: “If you know my work, you know what it’s going to sound like.”
Slayer’s final performance of their goodbye tour took place in November 2019 at the iconic Forum in Los Angeles, marking an amazing conclusion to a remarkable career.