Kerry King to Perform with Megadeth Tonight

Slayer axeman Kerry King is scheduled to perform alongside Megadeth on stage tonight (October 21) at the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, California. They will collectively perform the Megadeth classic, "Rattlehead." Tonight's performance marks the second time King has performed the song with Megadeth. The first performance was 26 years ago, in February 1984, during which time King played as the band's second guitarist.

Tonight's performance is part of the final show for the Jägermeister Music Tour, which features 1991's original Clash of the Titans lineup: Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax.

During an interview with Decibel magazine in 2006, both Slayer guitarists - King and Jeff Hanneman - discussed King's decision to play with Megadeth over 20 years ago:

Hanneman: "I thought [Kerry] was an ass for doing that. [laughs] I remember talking to Tom [Araya] about it, like, 'I guess we're gonna get a new guitar player.' I thought he was kissing Dave's [Mustaine] ass or something, and I thought it was kinda fucked up. I think he was gonna join. Kerry will probably tell you something different, but why do that if you're not thinking about joining? I'm a loyalist, you know, and I thought Slayer was the best thing going. Why go hang out with somebody else? If Dave would've asked me to do it, I would've told him to fuck off."

King: "I did it because I admired Mustaine — I'd seen him play with Metallica. He'd be up there drunk off his ass, just ripping, not even looking at his fingers. Me and Jeff didn't know how to do that yet. [laughs] When he got kicked out and was sniffing around for a guitarist, I figured I'd do it because I thought I would learn something. The other guys in Slayer were probably unhappy, but we weren't really known back then, and the way I looked at it was that if people saw me playing in Dave's band, it'd be more publicity for Slayer. Now you look back and you think 'supergroup,' but back then, absolutely not. I played their first five shows, and then I was like, 'Man, this is taking too much of my time.' I can't speak for Dave, but I don't think he would've been unhappy if I stuck around."

Below is a video featuring former Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson discussing King's time with Megadeth. Also below is footage from the 1984 performance of "Rattlehead." An image from Megadeth's official Twitter feed is included as well.

Dave Mustaine Talks About "Sudden Death"

Video footage of Megadeth's Dave Mustaine discussing the band's new track, "Sudden Death," is now available for streaming. The footage can be viewed below.

In reference to the track, which is set to appear as the finale piece in the upcoming Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock game, Mustaine told RollingStone.com that he more than expects mixed reactions from fans. "I'm sure some fans will think it's the greatest thing we've ever done," he commented, "But other people will say it sucks. That's just the way of the world." Mustaine went on to say that "Sudden Death" has a "funky kind of polyrhythm to it" - a characteristic that will likely present the Guitar Hero elite with an even more difficult tune to master. "Just the sheer repetitiveness of it can blow people's minds. And, my guitar style is way different than [other Megadeth guitarist] Chris Broderick's. Chris plays with a lot of love and I play with a lot of hate. My guitar playing is explosions, and his is more like fireworks. When you are trying to emulate the two kind of guitar styles, it's tricky. I don't care what anyone says, you've gotta be good."

"I thought it was a great idea for us," continued Mustaine. "We've had experience with games in the past, and our songs have been in sports games and Grand Theft Auto, but we never really got into the Guitar Hero thing. When they talked to us about doing this, I never imagined it would be something this honorable."

"Only once in my career have I had this happen before," Mustaine said, referring to 1991's soundtrack for Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (which featured Megadeth's "Go to Hell"). "We had written something and Interscope told me to make the lyrics even darker. Activision heard the track, and said, 'We want more solos on it.' And I said, OK, I can do that.'"

Dave Mustaine Talks Metallica, Religion, and Rock and Roll Excesses

In a recent interview, CTV.ca chatted with Megadeth main man Dave Mustaine about his upcoming autobiography.

Leaving no stone unturned, Mustiane discussed an array of personal topics, including the neglect he experienced during childhood, the excesses of his "rock and roll lifestyle," and the more recent events in his life including his newfound religious devotion. Concerning his turn to God, Mustaine commented on how religion doesn't readily meld with the metal archetype:

"I think in the beginning there were a lot of people who were very angry because they'd lost their guitar player, their singer, their frontman, their Dave Mustaine. [But] if you go back and look at all my lyrics now, there's a lot of God in it."

Mustaine also discussed metal giants Metallica. His excessive drug and alcohol use was the reason for his being booted from the band in 1983. In his book, Mustaine writes, "Without my songs and my solos - without my energy - I don't know that Metallica ever would have become the band that it was."

Outside of substance abuse, Mustaine experienced a number of other setbacks in his career. Among them: an arm injury that nearly ended his career entirely, the near-disintegration of his marriage, and a number of stints in rehab. "Heroin was a terrible experience for us," he admitted. "It was part of my life for 13 years." According to Mustaine, Megadeth's back catalogue is full of clues regarding the band's downward spiral: "You can see where the different types of drugs changed, where the band changed. The heroin and the cocaine use, and the debauchery, and the fighting and the theft and stealing and robbing."

Having recently embraced a more spiritual outlook on life, Mustaine credits religion as having saved his life, protected his family, and kept him going as a member of Megadeth:

"When I got saved it wasn't about getting me saved. It was about me getting my life right with God, getting my family out of what looked liked extremely dire straits ... and just making a really good decision for once in my life."

After all he's endured, Mustaine has no intention of stopping in the near future. "I think that I'll be a musician for the rest of my days," he remarked.