Slayer guitarist Kerry King recently gave an interview to Metal Hammer, reflected on his short time with Megadeth back in 1984, and revealed why he refused to join Megadeth.

In 2019, Slayer put an end to their longtime career spanning over three decades with their farewell tour. Kerry King remained a Slayer member ever since he co-founded the band alongside Jeff Hanneman in 1981. Although he collaborated with a number of artists from time to time, he never stopped working with Slayer.

In 1984, just after the release of Slayer’s debut album, ‘Show No Mercy,’ Megadeth was looking for a second guitar player. Megadeth members were immediately mesmerized when they heard Kerry King playing his guitar. Then, Dave Mustaine invited him to join Megadeth. King accepted the offer and played approximately five shows with Megadeth.

However, his escapade with Megadeth didn’t turn into a full-time commitment as he chose to return to Slayer. Kerry King recalled his brief tenure during the interview and said that Mustaine intended to keep him in the band, but Slayer was his number one priority at the time. Dave Mustaine tried to convince him by saying they had good songs, but it didn’t prevent King from going back to Slayer.

Here is how Kerry King explained the reason why he didn’t stay in Megadeth:

“But yeah, I played five shows, and then Dave wanted me to stay around, but I didn’t have any reason to stay around because I had Slayer. I remember having a conversation with him and saying like, ‘Yeah, but we have all this dark stuff,’ and Mustaine saying something like, ‘Well, we’ve got this song, it’s pretty Satanic,’ and I was like, ‘At the end of the day, dude, it ain’t about that. I came to play with you. I think it went spectacularly well, but it’s time for me to get back to my band.'”

Kerry King had stated before that Slayer’s retirement was too early for him as he would like to continue making music. King has been working on a new project, and according to the rumors, it will feature some notable names like his former bandmate Paul Bostaph, Down’s Phil Anselmo, and Exodus’ Gary Holt.