Kerry King says he started played bass on Slayer albums because Tom Araya would arrive at recording sessions without learning his parts
Kerry King has spoken about taking on bass parts on Slayer albums “since the Nineties” due to Tom Araya’s lack of preparations during recording sessions.
The guitarist, whose debut solo album From Hell I Rise landed earlier this year, tells Guitar World that the new record marks the first time he hasn’t played bass on since the 90s.
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Asked why Araya, the band’s official bassist, had stopped playing bass guitar on the albums, King explains, “We would always let Tom play bass until he got tired of not being good at it. In Tom’s defence, up to that point, he had never played the songs. It was always just me and Paul going through ‘em.”
According to King, Araya would often arrive at the studio without having learned his parts, leading to frustration and delays in the recording process.
“And then we get in the studio, it’s time to record. I think Tom’s got it in his head that he’s gonna be able to pull it off. But for anybody that’s never played a song before, to come in without knowing the music and get it up to recording level is not realistic,” says the musician.
“So, if I’ve already done my guitar tracks, Jeff’s done his guitar tracks, And Tom doesn’t know the bass parts, I can pick up a bass and get it done in less than a day ’cause I already know the songs.”
King continues: “It got to where he’d mess around and play one song for eight hours before he got frustrated and just said, ‘Here, you do it!’ I don’t want anybody to think for a second that he couldn’t do it if he had the time to learn it.”
Elsewhere in the chat, King confirms that his days of making music with his former band is well and truly over: “I’m not looking to do any more music with Slayer at all,” he states.
“Not because of any dislike, but because we made that statement that we’re not going to tour anymore. And since we’re not touring, I don’t see any point in putting out a record especially since I’ve already got my own new avenue to do that, and I love it.”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
