Mark Osegueda says Kerry King is one of his dearest friends and hilarious once you get past the exterior.
Mark Osegueda has pushed back at the idea that Kerry King is difficult to be around, describing the Slayer guitarist as one of the closest friends he has. The Death Angel singer, who fronts King‘s solo band, was asked by “Extreminal Metal TV” about the guitarist’s reputation among people who have never worked with him.
“I can see what you mean for people on the outside of it. Yeah, of course. But when you’re in a band with him, he’s actually… He’s pretty wonderful. I consider him one of my dearest friends. And he’s great. He’s funny. He is absolutely hilarious. And his work ethic, it’s insane. So he’s very prolific. He’s constantly busy. But you gotta crack the exterior shell that people see from the outside. But once you get in there and you’re in that inner world, he’s just as social and funny as anyone you’d ever come across. It’s just his approach is maybe different,” he explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Osegueda traced it back to how the band presented themselves from the beginning.
He said: “I think, in a sense, it’s always been the lore of Slayer, even from the days of the spikes and the nails and all that. It was daunting. And moving forward, it’s always been that since. But, again, I’m in the band. So in the band, it’s a wonderful work environment. There’s never anything tense about it. It’s run very well. But from an outsider’s point of view, I could definitely see how people aren’t… I could just see how they’re leery to approach him. And I could see why they would think that way or feel that way or be made to feel that way. So there you go. I mean, we’ve [Death Angel] toured with him. There you go. I think that’s basically the nicest way I could put it. He’s my f**king bro.”
Alongside King and Osegueda are guitarist Phil Demmel, formerly of Machine Head and Vio-Lence, bassist Kyle Sanders of Hellyeah and Bloodsimple, and Paul Bostaph, King‘s Slayer bandmate, who has also played with Testament and Exodus.
From Hell I Rise came out in May 2024 through Reigning Phoenix Music, with every song written by King, now 62. Josh Wilbur, whose credits take in Korn, Lamb Of God, Avenged Sevenfold and Bad Religion, produced at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles in 2023.
The band played their first show at Reggies in Chicago in early May 2024 and were on the main stages at Welcome To Rockville in Florida and Sonic Temple in Ohio within days. The European leg opened on 3 June 2024, King‘s 60th birthday.
That touring cycle is finished. Osegueda said last year the band had covered North America and Europe twice apiece plus South America, Japan and Australia, and had moved into writing.
King described where things stood in an interview with Reigning Phoenix Music‘s “Reigning TV“: “Well, it’s vague because there’s planning, there’s a record company’s perspective, but we have enough material for the next one already. I just started writing lyrics on it. I sent ’em to [singer Mark Osegueda]. He got the first song the other day. As long as I can get off my a** and get some lyrics happening, I would love to record before New Year’s. And then just give it to the record company and say, ‘Whenever you want, there it is.’ If it becomes January, February, that’s fine too… But I wanna keep these guys working because you’ve gotta keep the train rolling.”
King went into the studio in April to record it. A tour behind the album is expected to begin in early 2027, according to Independent Artist Group, the agency that signed Slayer and King‘s solo band earlier this year for representation outside the United States and Canada.
