KERRY KING On Nearly Joining MEGADETH & Why It Wouldn’t Have Worked Out: “Me And DAVE Would’ve Butted Heads Like No Tomorrow”

Before Slayer became one of thrash metal’s most enduring forces, guitarist Kerry King flirted with a path that could have taken him down a very different road – one that led through the earliest days of Megadeth. Now, in a candid new interview with Gastão Moreira of Bangers Open Air, King reflected on his brief but notable stint as Megadeth’s second guitarist.

“Well, I love Mustaine to this day. I think he’s one of the greatest guitar players out there – still,” King shared (via Blabbermouth). “So when I caught – I don’t even remember how I heard that he wanted me to play second guitar to him. But I was flattered because even back then, I thought he was awesome.”

King’s involvement with Megadeth came at a formative time. He played the band’s first five shows but never officially joined. Asked whether he was already a part of Slayer during this period, King confirmed, “Yeah, I think we were kind of in between records.”

It’s easy to imagine a timeline where King left one of thrash’s “Big Four” to help build another, but when asked if he ever considered leaving Slayer for Megadeth, he offered a measured reflection:

“I’m sure I probably did, but Slayer is where I belong. And in hindsight, I absolutely made the right choice ’cause me and Dave would’ve butted heads like no tomorrow. It’s just his personality. I mean, look how people have been in his band. Fifty? And that’s not me down-talking Mustaine. I like hanging with him for 20 minutes, and then you go away and ‘I’ll see you in a year.'”

In just a few words, King managed to acknowledge Mustaine’s influence while also reinforcing why his destiny was always with Slayer. While it’s fascinating to imagine a parallel metal universe where King remained a founding member of Megadeth, his instincts – however sharp-edged – ultimately aligned with the legacy he helped forge in Show No Mercy and beyond.