Ex-Slayer axeman Kerry King has never been one to hold back his thoughts.
Throughout his illustrious and decades-long career as one of thrash metal’s biggest guitarists, he’s been quick to call b.s. on other bands, regardless of their stature.
Case in point, King came at Metallica pretty hard when St. Anger dropped, saying at the time that:
“To me, I mean, I’m not just talking smack on Metallica just to do it, but realistically, what band is it, you know? Are you the band that did the first five records or the band that did all that crap since then? I think in doing those questionable records they – number one lost the fire, or… forgot how to write stuff because St. Anger was supposed to be, you know, the return, and that was garbage you know? I mean, I played it once and I threw it out the window.”
To be fair to King, though, he’s also been quick to call out his own band and music as well.
Now when it comes to arguably one of the biggest new metal bands to emerge over the past few years, Ghost, King also (not surprisingly) has strong feelings.
While he was quick to point out in this interview that he actually really respects their aesthetic and loves them as people, he is decidedly not a fan of the music they make. In his own words:
“Dude, I LOVE the imagery. I love it. I just HATE the fucking music. I like them, you know? They’ve been on many tours with us.”
When asked why he can’t get into the band, King responds:
“I can’t. I tried. I wanna like them, and I can’t. I got their CD from Brian Slagel from Metal Blade [Records], and I played it when Gary Holt first started playing with us. And I picked up Gary and I’m like ‘Brian said this is awesome man.’
So, I put it in, going to practice, and it wasn’t awesome. For me, it wasn’t awesome. Wasn’t awesome for him [Gary] either.
King continues: “I’m like, well, maybe the first song sucks, so we went to the next one. You know, it’s just not for me. I know Ghost is hugely popular and I’m very happy for their popularity. And like I said, nicest guys you’ll ever meet. It’s just not my music and I’ve tried SO hard [laughter].
Look, Ghost isn’t for everyone. That’s for sure. And King’s obviously entitled to his own musical opinions. At least he digs their approach to art, even if the music ain’t his cup ‘o tea.