Kerry King Rocked a Sold Out Baltimore Soundstage - 2/8/2025

It’s not every night you get to see a legend so close you can feel the electricity emanating from the stage. At the Baltimore Soundstage Saturday night, Kerry King, whose work with Slayer has defined thrash metal, brought his debut solo material along with a handful of other surprises to a sold out and very enthusiastic crowd.

As the club filled up, Waipu, New Zealand trio, Alien Weaponry took the stage with a bang with their Māori heritage shining through. And if that wasn’t enough, Municipal Waste, whom I’d wanted to see for a while, put on one of the most fun shows I’ve seen with a veritable wave (pun intended) of crowd surfers and even a young fan who joined the band on stage.

Things only went up from there as Kerry King and his band arrived to the sounds of “Diablo” from the guitarists debut, From Hell I Rise before the band strolled onto the stage to kick things off with the blistering “Where I Reign,” with a fiery staccato beat, courtesy of Paul Bostaph (Testament/Exodus/Forbidden) and bassist, Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah). And as Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) howled up a storm, Kerry King and fellow guitarist Phil Demmel (Machine Head) played faster than I remember seeing anyone play in recent memory.

I’m constantly amazed at how in the midst of a seemingly chaotic atmosphere (both on-stage and off), there can be this perfectly orchestrated vehicle for frustration, rage, and even joy that can be so clear and defined. Metal has that power to transcend what’s going on around you, and that was no more clear than at the Baltimore Soundstage Saturday night.

On one of the more punk influenced songs on Kerry King’s debut solo album, From Hell I Rise, is “Two Fists” which took on a bouncing combination of punk rage and thrash with one of my favorite lines in the album “It all comes down to this / My will and my two fists.”

Even Slayer’s song, “Repentless,” with King and company rocked has a sense of needing to express the need for that avenue to release frustration – Playing this shit is all that keeps me alive / I leave it all on the road, living on the stage / This is my life where I kill it every day / So take your shot, bottom’s up, this is no lie / I’ll be beating this guitar till the day I die.

“Now we’re fuckin’ getting somewhere,” Osegueda told the crowd. “This next one we’re gonna do for you is all about the fucked up state of politics all over the world today. It’s no more fucking vile and no more apparent. And none of us are immune. We are fortunate as a fucking community… we have this as a vehicle and a vessel to take out our aggressions.” And If there’s one thing that’s true of this community, as Osegueda put it, is the feeling through this club of belonging. Whatever was happening on the outside, for a few hours you could take solace in the understanding that there is a place where you belong.

In remembrance of Iron Maiden’s Paul Di’Anno, who passed away in October, Kerry King and his band performed “Purgatory” and “Killers” from Maiden’s album Killers, doing both classic songs immense justice.

The Official Video for “Residue” by Kerry King on YouTube:

For the topper, Kerry King played the Slayer classic, “Raining Blood” as the whole place chanted and shouted along. This was followed by “Black Magic” from the 1983 release, Show No Mercy and the title from King’s album, “From Hell I Rise.”

A brilliant set and one of those shows that’ll keep itself lodged in my brain. Kerry King and his band continue their US tour through the end of February, and it’s one not to miss out on.

The setlist included:

Where I Reign
Rage
Trophies of the Tyrant
Residue
Two Fists
Idle Hands
Repentless (Slayer song)
Toxic
Tension
Everything I Hate About You
Disciple (Slayer song)
Purgatory (Iron Maiden cover)
Killers (Iron Maiden cover)
Crucifixation
At Dawn They Sleep (Slayer song)
Shrapnel
Raining Blood (Slayer song)
Black Magic (Slayer song)
From Hell I Rise