Slayer / Kerry King drummer Paul Bostaph is featured in a career-spanning interview conducted by Rock Sverige. Following is an excerpt.

Q: The upcoming Slayer (reunion) shows? Were you as surprised as Kerry apparently was?

Bostaph: "Kerry knew it before I did, but yeah. I got the phone call and I never saw that coming. Really, when it was done in 2019, I went, 'That's all. That's it.' I'm not going to sit there and go, 'I hope it happens again.; I'm, like, 'It's done. Time to move on.' It was a fun ride while I was there and a great band, but then, all of a sudden, I get that phone call and I was, like, 'Huh?'" It'll be great. It will be great to jam with Tom (Araya / bass, vocals) and Gary (Holt / guitar) and Kerry, which I'm doing anyway, but just playing Slayer songs. But yeah, I was surprised about it."

Q: You´re playing a few Slayer songs with Kerry now. How did you go about picking which ones?

Bostaph: "Kerry picked them. Obviously we´re a new band and we don´t want to play a bunch of Slayer songs. We´re not trying to be baby Slayer, but then again it´s part of our pedigree and I think people still want to hear that and why not. Me and Kerry can do it, so why not? Kerry picked them and I think once we get more known and have more records out, we´ll probably interject different ones in. I don´t think there´s anything he can throw at me that I don´t know. All the other guys have to learn them, but not me."

Read the complete interview here.

With enough new material for two full albums, all written by King, if it hadn’t been for the COVID pandemic, his long-awaited solo project would likely have emerged in 2020. For his debut album, From Hell I Rise, King on guitar, enlisted drummer Paul Bostaph (Slayer), bassist Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah), Phil Demmel (formerly of Machine Head) on guitar, and vocalist Mark Osegueda (Death Angel). Working with producer Josh Wilbur (Korn, Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold, Bad Religion), the vast bulk of King’s solo album was recorded at Henson Studios in Los Angeles in about two weeks and was finished this past June.

“I didn’t know what to think, you know, it’s Kerry King from Slayer, who I’ve heard a million times,” said Wilbur. “He’s a very strong presence. I wouldn’t say that Kerry has an ego, but he has confidence in himself, which is a good thing. That’s what you want in your rock stars and in your band. He never comes off as a jerk or mean guy. But he does know exactly what he wants. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He’s like, ‘I don’t want to do that, but I want to do this.’ Very direct, but it comes from a place of confidence, and not from a place of anything else. I really enjoyed working with Kerry.”

According to King, the new music consists of “various religious topics, some war entries, heavy stuff, punky stuff, doomy stuff, and spooky stuff, with Herculean speeds achieved. If you’ve ever liked any Slayer throughout any part of our history," he adds, "there’s something on this record that you’ll get into, be it classic punk, fast punk, thrash, or just plain heavy metal!”

"Idle Hands", the debut track from King’s upcoming solo project, can be found below.

"All of us at RPM are very excited to be working with Kerry King, and it's an honor to be working his first solo album," said RPM's co-founder and President, Gerardo Martinez. "The joy of working on Slayer's last album, Repentless, and to be reunited with my brother on his new musical journey doesn't get any better!"

As King admits, “Even with a record in the can, I’ve still got so many songs that need to be finished. This is what I know how to do…number one being music, number two being metal. It’s been a part of my life for 40 years, and I’m nowhere near being done.”

From Hell I Rise tracklisting:

"Diablo"
"Where I Reign"
"Residue"
"Idle Hands"
"Trophies Of The Tyrant"
"Crucifixation"
"Tension"
"Everything I Hate About You"
"Toxic"
"Two Fists"
"Rage"
"Shrapnel"
"From Hell I Rise"

"Idle Hands" visualizer:

Find Kerry King's live itinerary here.

(Kerry King photo - Andrew Stuart)