As I arrived at Boston’s Royale, ready for an evening with Kerry King, I thought how I always take farewell tours with a grain of salt. I learned that lesson early on when I saw the farewell tour from The Who back in 1982. Slayer pulled the plug in 2019, ending a two-year final tour around a good chunk of the northern hemisphere, but got cajoled by what can be assumed to be a giant pile of money to play two festival shows last year, Riot Fest and Aftershock.
Kerry King – Municipal Waste – Alien Weaponry
Royale, Boston – 4 February 2025
Words And Photography: Tim Bugbee
Before that, though, guitarist Kerry King had got together a bunch of friends, all who also happened to have quite the pedigree in the Heavy Metal scene, to create his first solo record. Along with Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph, the band consists of singer Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), guitarist Phil Demmel (Vio-lence, ex-Machine Head) and bass player Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah, and older brother to Mastodon’s Troy Sanders). 
This band knows what they are doing, and they do not fuck around getting to the point. Seasoned pros, this Royale, Boston set started with the band walking out to the recording of the record’s first song, Diablo, which nicks the main riff from Pentagram’s Forever My Queen a bit.
The fury meter was pinned as Bostoph hit that galloping thrash beat and Where I Reign lit the fuse, the band launching into overdrive. Even if you were not familiar with From Hell I Rise, what was in store tonight, it was not a big surprise. Osegueda is a perfect singer for Kerry King’s band, with great tone, control and power. 
Toxic [not the Britney Spears song!] railed against the deficiencies of the government, with Osegueda prefacing the song by telling the crowd to take their aggressions out on this fucked up shit we are currently experiencing.
The pace just kept ratcheting up for Tension and Everything I Hate About You, the band’s energy fueling a never-ending fountain of crowd surfers. Bostaph, in particular, shone on the latter song, ultra-crisp and accurate fills while the driving beat was as steady as a metronome if that metronome weighed 500 pounds and could level small buildings with each stroke. 
While groundbreaking in his own right, Kerry King paid tribute to one of the true kings of the Metal world as well as honouring the passing of the late Paul Di’Anno. The opening bass line of Purgatory was instantly recognisable, and then Killers came right on the heels. Steve Harris deserves a spot in whatever heaven may exist when he leaves this planet. Damn!
Of course, some Slayer songs were also played, which is tough to avoid when you have only one record out and 90 minutes to fill. Repentless might not have been on everyone’s wish list, but Disciple, Black Magic, and especially Raining Blood made the crowd light up.
It’s not Slayer, and it is not meant to be, but Kerry King has got a good thing going on while the world might wait for the next (inevitable?) Slayer reunion gig. 
Municipal Waste
The support acts on this bill were top-shelf, too. Municipal Waste is always a super fun show to see, a knowingly goofy spin on Troma-inspired Metal and Hardcore.
Frontman Anthony Foresta is a non-stop ball of energy, pacing the stage, flexing, jumping off the mini riser and inciting the crowd in whatever manner he can think of.
He noted the somewhat listless crowd surfing at the beginning of the show by stating that the security guards were the most bored he had seen all tour, just watching with nothing to do. He also singled out a hapless gent in a white shirt standing emotionless with arms crossed in classic Boston style, telling the crowd that the guy was looking like he expected everyone to line up and give him a blowjob. 
He also gave a knowing nod to the music that helped shape the band and the city he was playing in by imploring everyone to listen to This Is Boston Not LA, a record that I can say helped shape my nascent musical taste immensely.
Before playing The Trashing Of The Christ, Foresta made sure to tell Mel Gibson he can fuck off. I didn’t see Mel in the crowd but I appreciated the sentiment, regardless. Of course they closed out with their unofficial theme song Born To Party, and Municipal Waste lived up to their promise that they would fuck us up.
Alien Weaponry
Hailing from Aotearoa (or New Zealand, as most know it), Alien Weaponry walked their talk. The trio is proud of their Maori heritage and even sang a few songs in the language.
Lewis Raharuhi de Jong whipped his dreds around while he cranked out intricate runs on guitar, and his brother Henry Te Reiwhati de Jong anchored the trio with relentless beats in sync with Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds’ steady bass work.
Kinda Nu-Metal, kinda djent, the band was a solid warmup for things to come.
