Kerry King At Centre Bell

The Ashes of Leviathan tour passed through town back on August 1st and though he wasn't headlining this particular show, our second performer has a long history of visiting Montreal.  Kerry King was the next to hit the stage, and he has been here several times over the years with his band Slayer.  They appeared at three different editions of the Heavy MTL festival, twice in headlining slots.  Super Groups have popped up over the years, but I defy you to find a more metal Super Group than the gang Kerry King brought with him.  Joining Kerry King on stage was a who’s who of the scene.  Mark Osegueda of Death Angel on vocals, Phil Demmel, formerly of Machine Head on guitar, Kyle Sanders of Hellyeah on bass and rounded out by Paul Bostaph, who has drummed for Testament, Exodus and Slayer.  You know what you’re going to get with Kerry King. A bombardment of thrash metal that will leave you melted to the floor where you stand.  With his iconic look of tattoos, long beard and aggressive guitar playing, I've always thought of Kerry King of being the visual representative of thrash metal.  If someone were to ask what thrash metal looks like, one look at Kerry King would do a better job of defining the genre than any combination of words.  Though Slayer as a band retired a few years back, Kerry King has still been writing music and released his very first solo album, From Hell I Rise, this past May.  The album is the perfect continuation from his time in Slayer, which makes sense as he was a founding member.  Though Slayer may be done, it’s good to know that Kerry King will still be out there keeping the music alive.

 

If you would like to find out more about Kerry King and his music, you can do so by following the link to his website.  If you would like to see the photographs that I took of Malevolence, Mastodon and Lamb of God, who also performed that night, you can do so by following the link.  Much thank to Monica Seide-Evenson of SpeakEasy PR, Selena Fragassi of FR-PR and Christopher Gonda of V13Media for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  As always, it is very much appreciated.  Kerry King will be continuing with the Ashes of Leviathan tour to the end of August.  The tour itself is not to be missed, but the same goes for Kerry King.  Be sure to catch his show when it comes to town.