Kerry King • February 11, 2025 • Jannus Live, St. Petersburg, FL • Photos by Randy Cook

It was no secret that when the band Slayer retired on November 30, 2019, founding member Kerry King was not done making new music. A project over four years in the making, his first solo release ‘From Hell I Rise’, was released in May of 2024 and it was not long before his new band was formed and includes many familiar names to those of us in the metal community. Drummer Paul Bostaph (Slayer), bassist Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH), guitarist Phil Demmel (Machine Head), and vocalist Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) round out a formidable backing tribe for one of the fiercest guitarists in all of thrash metal.

A beautiful evening in St. Petersburg under the stars at one of my favorite outdoor venues could not have been a more perfect setting. With temperatures in the mid 60’s and the treat of some kick ass metal in store for those on hand. I am always interested in the crowd demographics of the Shows I Go To and this night, as expected, skewed heavily toward male, and with distinct age range I would guess starting mid 30s in age. Slayer has been around since 1981 and the crowd crossed at least two generations. 

Hailing from New Zealand and opening the show, Alien Weaponry was up first with their interesting mix of aggressive, groove-heavy thrash metal with native tribal like themes, hakas (war dances), and historical storytelling in their lyrics. When I first heard them on Sirus XM’s Liquid Metal channel, their unique sound certainly caught my attention and I had to check out more. This was my second time seeing them live and when they were announced on this tour, I knew I had to arrive early to check these guys out again. Their five-song set seemed to be over way too fast. Their unique, at times almost tribal metal like sound has some serious catchy riffs and grooves and they finished their set with the song that turned me on to them, ‘Kai Tangata’, and as evident by a crowd full of necks going in unison, even those in the mosh pit, it is almost impossible to stay still for this song. This band is fantastic and I look forward to seeing them in a headlining slot to hear a longer set. 

Party thrash band Municipal Waste was up next with their short, high-energy songs, super-fast chug, chug, chugging mosh heavy riffs and sing along courses. Chaos and mayhem may be the best words to describe their live shows. Thankfully, we photographers got three of the bands ‘longer’ songs at the beginning of their fifteen song set. This was my third time seeing Municipal Waste and with a stage adorned with glowing barrels of radioactive waste and skeletal characters rising up from that waste they hit the stage in a frenzy and never looked back. Lead vocalist, Tony Foresta, is among the best as an engaging front man to interact with the crowd and his fellow band mates. Even with a team full of security in the photo pit, we photographers had to have eyes in the back of our heads as we fully expected a flood of crowd surfers. Thankfully there were none that I witnessed while I was up front, and then I made my way into the crowd to watch the rest of their set.  The mosh pit was certainly sizable and never let up its intensity and I saw a few crowd surfers rise up above and then get carried forward. They played a fun, super high energy set and got the crowd primed and ready for the main event.

Playing his debut release solo in its entirety and mixing in some tasty covers for an impressive nineteen song set, this was my fifteenth time seeing Kerry King, the first fourteen being with (F*ckin’) Slayer. I had heard some of his solo material and had liked what I had heard. I was excited going into the show tonight to have a chance to hear the whole release. As the lights dimmed and that roar came from the crowd, there is that moment of paused electricity in the air just before the first notes. The band hit the stage with a fury and the opening riffs of ‘Where I Reign’ have that iconic, attitude driven guitar style which in a sense defines thrash metal’s raw intensity. Lead vocalist Mark has a vocal delivery that blends aggressive soaring intensity with melodic grace. With a merciless twin guitar attack of Kerry and Phil, they feed off each other’s precision and technicality, with both possessing the speed to deliver menacing ferocity at incredible speeds. It was full speed ahead with very little chit chat in between songs. As always, those first three songs in the photo pit were over in an instant and I ventured back into the crowd to settle in and check out the energy this band brings to their live show. As expected, a solid mosh pit stayed formed throughout the set, and it was more than a third of the way through the set before the first Slayer song was played. The mosh pit grew in size and the entire crowd joined in for the chorus to ‘Repentless’, myself included. During the set I thought it was interesting how the solo material was played out of order from the studio release and intermixed into the set. As you will see, if only I had remembered this thought later in the night.

The set continued and pummeled us with some glorious brutal thrash metal on a Tuesday night. Mark dedicated two Iron Maien covers to the recent passing of Iron Maiden’s former vocalist Paul Di’Anno, going extremely deep into the archives to cover ‘Purgatory’. The deep cover cuts later in the show included Slayer’s 1985 song ‘At Dawn They Sleep’ and 1983’s ‘Black Magic’. The set would not be complete without some of the most definitive vicious riffs and blistering solos in metal history. ‘Raining Blood’ was by far the reigning winner for mosh pit intensity this evening. I thought I was in a safe place a few rows outside the pit on the right with my friends Sima and Kenny. Once those first few notes were recognized, the pit instantly nearly doubled in size. My first thought being to protect my camera gear over my limbs and own safety, I sought a spot a few feet further right and up a little bit and watched the intensity, both on stage and in the crowd. During the band introductions Mark did take a moment and speak a few words and honor Kerry as one of the most influential members of the thrash metal movement. The set concluded with the title track ‘From Hell I Rise’ and after the band took their group bow, Kerry stayed on stage for several extra minutes, thanking the fans and throwing out much sought after guitar picks.    

It was a fantastic night of great music, and it was my first metal show of 2025. While I went to the show solo I met up with several friends at the venue and that just makes the experience so much more enhanced. A friend graciously offered me his extra after show ticket and I had a chance to meet and talk with guitarist Phil Demmel. It was fascinating to hear my friend and Phil converse about upcoming touring logistics for the various bands that Phil currently plays in. Here is where I had the golden opportunity to inquire about the set list order, but alas I forgot. Tickets for the remaining dates on the tour which wrap up at House of Blues in Las Vegas on February 22, can be found here. I highly encourage anyone on the fence to go see the tour. With great support from two fun and jamming bands and a ninety minute set of glorious thrash metal, I saw nothing but smiling faces when the show I attended had concluded.

Kerry King set list, February 11, 2025, Jannus Live, St. Petersburg, FL:

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)

Encore:
From Hell I Rise

▼ SHOWS TO GO TO ▼

DONATE TO OUR NONPROFIT!

Check out our South Florida SIGT Website! 

Shows I Go To South Florida Giveaway, Reviews, Photos, and more

Please support our friends who support us! Tell them Shows I Go To sends love! 🙂