In a recent interview with Metal Hammer Germany, Slayer‘s guitarist Kerry King revealed what he considers the “perfect” riff from his extensive musical repertoire. At 60 years-old, King bestowed this title upon the song “Crucifixation,” featured in his new solo album “From Hell I Rise.”
Reflecting on his creative process, King shared, “The perfect Kerry King riff, to me, is probably the newest one I made up that I’m excited about on any given day.” He added, “It’s really difficult, but we’re very notorious historically for making up songs with tons of riffs, and there’s tons of riffs on this album, ‘From Hell I Rise.’“
Focusing on “Crucifixation,” King elaborated, “It’s got a lot of harmony going on. It elevates from just the riff to one harmony to the next harmony to the next harmony.” He emphasized the complexity and dynamism of the song, noting, “It’s also got a bunch of drum-fill breaks, which I was very happy to present to Paul [Bostaph, Slayer and Kerry King drummer] when I made that song up.”
King‘s excitement about the song’s structure was evident as he recounted, “I said, ‘Hey, dude, I’ve got a song that’s got recurring drum fills. Man, I need you to do your best Bill Ward [Black Sabbath drummer].’ And I think we did that.” He concluded, “I’ll pick that riff for now because it’s a big part of a super-thrashy song, but it’s very heavy and slow and very Sabbath-influenced.”
