KERRY KING On Playing With MEGADETH Again: 'I Never In A Million Years Thought It Would Happen'

Artisan News Service spoke with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and SLAYER guitarist Kerry King shortly before King joined MEGADETH on stage last Thursday (October 21) at the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, California to perform MEGADETH's classic "Rattlehead". You can now watch the two separate interviews below.

"Not very many people know this, but Kerry King played guitar in MEGADETH in the very beginning," Mustaine said. "David Ellefson [MEGADETH bassist] still touts [Kerry] as being the best rhythm guitar player that MEGADETH ever had, which I think is really cool."

He continued, "It's funny, because when Kerry played with us, he would still wear his SLAYER colors. We didn't, so we would be there with high-tops and sneakers on and Kerry would be there with nails for days everywhere. [laughs] And I remember going to his house and he was making that thing [nail-studded wristband], man. His dad's sitting on a chair watching TV and Kerry's just sitting there just hammering away, making a pentagram like it was nothing — not a big deal at all. [laughs] And we had a great time, man. He's a really smart player and he was able to learn the stuff that I wrote really quickly, which made a huge impression on David, 'cause he still talks about it."

When asked about his appearance with MEGADETH 26 years after he first played with the band, Kerry said, "I never in a million years thought it would happen. And [Mustaine] asked me in the midst of the first run [of dates featuring SLAYER and MEGADETH]. And I said, 'Let's not get ahead of ourselves. If we're gonna do it, let's do it in Hollywood.' And I just picked up the song two days ago. it's not like 'Am I Evil?' [by DIAMOND HEAD] — I can't pick it up in 10 minutes; there's real intricate riffs I've gotta perform. So I've been working on it; this is the third day now. It sounds pretty good. So it's gonna be cool, man. I've got pictures of me playing with him, man... in '84... What was that, 26 years ago?! And now we're gonna get pictures 26 years later. It's cool."

Regarding the first few shows he played with MEGADETH back in 1984, King said, "Yeah, it was after [SLAYER's] first album [came out]. I was an admirer of Mustaine, 'cause I saw METALLICA play withMustaine; not many people can say that. And I was blown away by how good that kid was. And I think we didn't really know each other, but we both played B.C. Rich [guitars], so an acquaintance brought it up, 'Hey, why don't you see if Kerry will play with you. And [he] asked me, 'Would you be interested in playing with Mustaine?' And I was a fan of his playing and admired how he played. So I [was], like, 'Yeah, man, I'll help the dude out.' So I played the first five shows. Maybe that's where the original bad blood [between Kerry and Mustaine] came when I left; I don't know. But my band's always been SLAYER. I saw it as an opportunity when we played, 'cause we [MEGADETH and Kerry] mostly played in the Bay Area — I think that's all we played. But if people saw me, they would associate SLAYER as well. I've always thought about, 'How can I make SLAYER something bigger by doing something on my own?' And that was my thinking when I did [a guest appearance on] the BEASTIE BOYS album, too. I'm like, 'These guys will probably get a video. We're never gonna get a fucking video; we're in a metal band.' And if people see me with my nails and stuff, they'll associate SLAYER with the BEASTIE BOYS, and they'll think SLAYER, so that's just how I think."

Last Thursday night's Los Angeles-area concert was the final show of the Jägermeister Music Tour, featuring the original "Clash Of The Titans" lineup from 1991 — SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX.

Interview with Dave Mustaine and Kerry King:

MEGADETH and Kerry King performing "Rattlehead" on October 21, 2010 - clip #1:

MEGADETH and Kerry King performing "Rattlehead" on October 21, 2010 - clip #2: