David Ellefson has discussed the brief stint Slayer’s Kerry King enjoyed with Megadeth, recalling being blown away by his talents.
According to Blabbermouth, the stint in question occurred in April, 1984, just a few months after the release of Slayer’s debut album Show No Mercy. King was in Northern California when a mutual friend connected him with Megadeth.
“We were looking for a second guitar player to do these gigs when we debuted the band in 1984 up in San Francisco,” David Ellefson, Megadeth’s bassist and co-founder, recalled during an appearance on Todd Kern’s YouTube channel. “And he came in. At that time, Slayer still had makeup. Slayer didn’t really have their identity yet.”
“It’s funny, because when Kerry played with us, he would still wear his Slayer colors. We didn’t, so we would be there with high-tops and sneakers on and Kerry would be there with nails for days everywhere,” Mustaine recalled.
“We had a great time, man. He’s a really smart player and he was able to learn the stuff that I wrote really quickly.”
The relationship hasn’t always been so rosy though. For decades, King and Mustaine traded insults, stemming from 1991’s Clash of the Titans tour. The lineup featured Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Alice in Chains, and a lot of tension unfolded behind the scenes.
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By 2015, things had lightened slightly. In a conversation with Loudwire, King fondly remembered his brief stint with Megadeth. “It was good time back then,” the guitarist admitted. “[Mustaine] was cooler back then. I think there’s been a lot of drugs and extracurriculars between now and then.”
“We’ve had a very up-and-down relationship over the years, because, as you know, Kerry is very outspoken, and sometimes he’s joking about somebody and sometimes he’s not,” Mustaine explained in a 2018 interview with Rock and Roll Garage. “But he’s been a great friend, and I have tremendous respect for what Slayer’s done.”
Check out David Ellefson’s interview with Todd Kerns below:
