It’s not always a widely know fact that Slayer‘s Kerry King played guitar on the iconic Beastie Boys song “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” The guitar riffs, and the solo that appear within the song, were all laid down by Mr. King himself.
He also appears within the music video for the track (dressed up in a gorilla suit). So yeah, there is a little bit of Slayer history woven in to the Beastie Boys’ DNA!
However, while working together, it seems that King and the Beastie Boys were actually not super fond of each other. A few years back, super producer Rick Rubin explained the fraught relationship to Rolling Stone. Per Rubin:
“Kerry King from Slayer did the guitar solo. I don’t think he liked the song. I think he just thought it was bizarre. He’s a real, serious metalhead. He really loves metal, and I don’t think he listens to much music outside of metal.
At least then he didn’t. I don’t think it spoke to his aesthetic. And honestly, in retrospect, I don’t think he really spoke to the Beasties’ aesthetic. They didn’t really like him either [laughs]. It was kind of mutual.”
Can we say we’re entirely surprised? Not really. Kerry has been a proudly staunch metalhead for his whole career, rarely deviating outside the genre lines and being pretty damn vocal in the press any time one of his genre peers misstepped creatively.
In other fun Slayer-related news, drumming legend Dave Lombardo was recently asked if he would be open to reuniting with Slayer on stage if they were ever to come out of retirement.
In the same interview, he also weighed in on if he’d be down to join Kerry’s newly-assembled post-Slayer ensemble. You can find out Dave’s answers to both of these questions by following the link below.
Dave Lombardo Speaks To Whether Or Not He'd Be Open To A Slayer Reunion
