Thrash-metal vets Slayer are looking forward to this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, an outing that for the second time in two years will team the group with Marilyn Manson.
"We haven't done North America in about 22 months," said Slayer guitarist Kerry King, via telephone from Canada. "We haven't done the States since it was us and Manson the last time. This is the hungriest [audiences] have been for us in some time."
Famished fans will be able to hear one track from
Slayer's forthcoming 10th studio album "
World Painted Blood," most likely the first single, "
Psychopathy Red." It is the follow-up release to 2006's "
Christ Illusion," which included the Grammy Award-winning songs "
Eyes Of The Insane" and "
Final Six."
"We'll probably only play one [new] song," said King, who added that the album is tentatively scheduled for a September release. "Me being a fan and how I would want to see a band play, I would like to see stuff that I know and maybe get a taste of the new record. Being we're only playing an hour, we're scheduled to play one [new] song."
The band has recorded 13 songs for the album, seven written by guitarist Jeff Hanneman and six by King, he said. Only 11 tracks are expected to be included on "World Painted Blood."
"It was bizarre," King said of the songwriting process. "We had to not really rush it, but we were in a time window in which we had to get things done. We wrote things a lot quicker than we usually do, and just kind of put them out. I think it gave it more of a retro kind of vibe because it's very similar to how we made stuff up in Tom's [Araya, bassist/vocalist] garage in the '80s. I think that affected how we were writing."
The extra two tracks will see the light of day, King said, but whether they appear in movies, video games or B-sides is yet to be determined.
"There's so many outlets now," King said. "It's cool. The easier it is to get kids turned on in different ways, that's always good."
This summer, the band - which also includes drummer Dave Lombardo - is using the Mayhem festival to do just that. In between performances, King will keep busy spreading his message to the masses.
"On this one, I've signed up to do 11 in-stores for my guitar companies, mostly at Guitar Centers," King said. "Some are day of the show, so that'll dictate when I get to the venue. The days I don't have in-stores, I'm signed to go sign [autographs] at the Jagermeister booth."
For a band that's used to playing at clubs with enthusiastic mosh pits, King said the traditional summer sheds that will house Mayhem may hinder Slayer's typical "electric" performance.
"I may not be quite as electric as I would be in a different situation but I try not to let that affect me. It's more fun for me if there's action."
Thanks for the report to Livedaily.com.
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