WWE wrestler Damian Priest‘s updated version of his entrance song “Rise For The Night”, featuring SLAYER guitarist Kerry King, has been officially made available on all the streaming music services.
King plays guitar on the track, which originally debuted last November during WWE‘s weekly “Raw” broadcast. At the time, Priest took to social media to thank King for “adding some of his genius to my theme.”
Priest spoke about his love for metal in a Metal Hammer interview in April 2024. “I would say that METALLICA and Ozzy [Osbourne] were my first [bands] where I was, like, ‘Oh, I love this,'” he said. “That’s what really got me hooked on heavy metal.”
Although “Rise For The Night” marks King‘s first performance on a theme song for a WWE wrestler, SLAYER originally recorded the “God Hates Us All” album track “Here Comes The Pain” for a compilation LP by now-defunct promotion WCW in 1999. More recently, SLAYER‘s classic 1988 song “South Of Heaven” was licensed by WWE as a one-off entrance theme for veteran wrestler Edge at “Wrestlemania 39” in 2023.
King and his new solo band will hit the road for the 28-date North American headline tour in early 2025. With MUNICIPAL WASTE as special guest and ALIEN WEAPONRY supporting, the tour is set to launch in San Francisco on January 15, 2025, and wrap at House of Blues in Las Vegas on February 22.
King‘s debut solo album, “From Hell I Rise”, was released in May 2024. All material for the LP was written by the 60-year-old SLAYER guitarist. Helming the sessions at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles last year was producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BAD RELIGION, among others.
Joining Kerry in his new band are Mark Osegueda (vocals, DEATH ANGEL),Phil Demmel (guitar, MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE),Kyle Sanders (bass; HELLYEAH) and Paul Bostaph (drums, SLAYER).
In early May 2024, the KERRY KING band performed its first live show at Reggies in Chicago. In the days following, the band went from playing an intimate venue to performing at the huge U.S. festivals Welcome To Rockville (Florida) and Sonic Temple (Ohio).
KERRY KING launched a European tour on June 3, 2024 — King‘s 60th birthday – in Tilburg, The Netherlands. The trek combined headline shows in the U.K., The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain but also festival appearances such as Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Tuska, Download, Sweden Rock Festival and many more.
The SLAYER guitarist’s solo band played its first concert as the support act for LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON on July 19 at the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas. The six-week “Ashes Of Leviathan” tour wrapped on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.
