Kerry King

King has stayed clear of politics, but stated in 2017 that he was "embarrassed about Trump's presidency," which he described as "divisive and polarizing."

King contributed the main lead guitar solo and outro part to Pantera's song "Goddamn Electric", which appeared on the 2000 album, Reinventing the Steel. King's rig was set up in Pantera's bathroom backstage just after Ozzfest in Dallas, as the group still did not have their own dressing room, on top of not appearing on the festival bill. After King had finished the first take of the main lead, Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell ran in and yelled, "Don't let him do it again!" King tried again in the hope he would perform a superior rendition, but the first take was used. King has also made several guest appearances on Marilyn Manson's Rape of the World Tour, joining the band to play tracks such as "Little Horn", "1996" and "Irresponsible Hate Anthem". Many fans noticed elements of King's own style used on these occasions. On October 21, 2010, the final date of the Jägermeister Music Tour, King joined Megadeth on stage at the Gibson Amphitheater in Hollywood to perform "Rattlehead" which was the first time in 26 years that King had shared the stage with Megadeth (King had been a touring substitute for a few months in 1984).

He made a movie appearance in the 2009 movie Brooklyn's Finest as a member of SWAT team led by Ethan Hawke's character.

King has a trademark personal appearance and extensive tattoos all over his arms and head. His tattoo was praised to such a degree by Blender Magazine that they once produced a tour of his body ink. King's abbreviation, KFK, was revealed to mean "Kerry Fuckin' King" in the January 2007 Issue of Guitar World. King currently resides in Corona, California.

King's first experience with a guitar was when he was a child. Steve Huey of AllMusic has commented in his review for Reign in Blood that Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman's demented soloing often mimics the screams of the songs' victims. He also described his and Jeff Hanneman's guitar solos as "wildly chaotic". Thom Jurek, also of AllMusic, described his work on 2006's Christ Illusion as creating "an intensely harrowing and angular riff that changes from verse to verse, through the refrain and bridge, and comes back again."

King is an atheist. He is known to despise organized religion and expresses his views in his songwriting. In a 2006 interview with Blabbermouth.net, King expressed his anti-religious views: "I don't really have a life philosophy; my thing is just rebelling against pretty much organized religion. That is my main thing, because personally I think it's a crutch for people that are too weak to get through life on their own. I'm the kind of guy that says if I don't see it, then it doesn't work. And nobody can show me God." When asked by Revolver Magazine what superpower would he want if he was a supervillain, King replied "the ability to burst a church into flames by simply walking by it."

In addition to appearing on Slayer's albums, he has also made several guest appearances for other artists. While lending production to 1986's Reign in Blood, Rick Rubin was also helping with the production of the Beastie Boys' debut album Licensed to Ill. Rubin felt the track "No Sleep till Brooklyn" needed a guitar solo, so he called in King to lay down the part. King has since commented that his playing ability "certainly wasn't that of a virtuoso". The video for "No Sleep till Brooklyn", whose title was a spoof on Motörhead's 1981 live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, was originally intended to feature King being knocked offstage by a gorilla, although King refused. King replied, "If there's gonna be anyone knocking anyone offstage, it'll be me knocking the gorilla", which was what subsequently happened. King has reminisced that he thought the Beastie Boys were cool, although he had never heard any of their music at the time.

In 1984, King was invited by Dave Mustaine to join another up and coming Thrash Metal band, Megadeth. Although King did agree to partake in many gigs with them, he ultimately did not join fulltime due to his commitment to Slayer.

In 1981, King was at an audition trying out for the position of guitarist in a band that King described as turning out to be more of a Southern rock-type band. Afterwards, King approached Jeff Hanneman, who was playing guitar at the reception desk, and said they should jam together and see if they liked playing together. King and Hanneman subsequently decided to start their own band, which would soon evolve into Slayer. King, along with bassist/vocalist Tom Araya, remained in Slayer for the entire length of the band's career, from 1981 to 2019.

Kerry Ray King (born June 3, 1964) is an American musician, best known for being the guitarist and songwriter for the American thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and remained a member for nearly four decades.