Slayer's Kerry King reveals band's 'stupid' warm-up routine

A picture of Kerry King performing with Slayer
Kerry King (Image credit: Getty)

Slayer’s Kerry King has revealed that the thrash giants sometimes warm up for a show by singing along to “stupid shit” like Dewey Cox songs.

The guitarist says that while he prefers to stretch and ease his way through his own preparation for a gig, frontman Tom Araya enjoys a comedy soundtrack, such as that from 2007 movie Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

Asked what he does to prepare for a show like last night’s (Sunday) headline slot at Bloodstock, King tells Metal Hammer: “It’s usually silent unless Tom is playing something stupid like Dewey Cox or something. We play funny shit like that. He’ll have it playing in the hallway between rooms and we’ll sing Dewey Cox songs while we’re warming up.

“I warm up about an hour prior and get my stage gear on a half hour prior. Getting everything stretched…I do like to put on a show still and I’d hate to not stretch and get something in my body pissed off at me so I couldn’t put on a show for 10 days. That would drive me nuts.”

King also reveals that he has as many as nine unreleased tracks in the bag, left over from the sessions for latest album Repentless.

He adds: “I think I never really got out of writing mode for the last record. There’s so much extra material already recorded. There are seven, eight or nine extra songs with guitar, drums and bass.

“They are just sitting there and as long as lyrics don’t change them musically, they’re done. Slayer’s never been in that position, but I wrote so much stuff.”

The full interview with Kerry King will appear on an upcoming episode of the Metal Hammer: In Residence podcast on Spotify.

Slayer remaining 2016 tour dates

Aug 17: Bratislava Aegon Arena, Slovakia
Aug 19: Wilburgstetten Summer Breeze, Germany
Aug 20: Hamburg Elb-Riot Festival, Germany
Sep 09: Cleveland Jacob’s Pavilion, OH
Sep 10: Detroit Freedom Hill Amphitheatre, MI
Sep 12: Toronto Sound Academy, ON
Sep 13: Montreal Metropolis, QC
Sep 15: Pittsburgh Stage AE, PA
Sep 20: Indianapolis Egyptian Room, IN
Sep 22: St Louis The Pageant, MO
Sep 27: Orlando Hard Rock Live, FL
Sep 28: Miami Fillmore, FL
Sep 30: Tunica Horseshoe Casino, MS
Oct 03: Norfolk Norva, VA
Oct 05: Atlanta Tabernacle, GA
Oct 07: Dallas Gas Monkey Live, TX
Oct 08: Austin ACL At The Moody Theatre, TX
Oct 10: Denver Fillmore, CO
Oct 11: Salt Lake City The Complex, UT
Oct 13: Missoula The Wilma Theatre, MT
Oct 17: Lethbridge Enmax Center, AB
Oct 19: Penticton South Okanagan Events Centre, BC
Oct 20: Abbotsford Centre, BC
Oct 23: Reno Events Center, NV
Oct 27: El Paso County Coliseum, TX

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Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.