Kerry King Talks Raiders Football, Rooting for the “Bad Guys,” and His “Big 4” NFL Players

Kerry King is a heavy metal legend, as founding guitarist of thrash icons Slayer. Nowadays, he’s keeping the fire going with his new eponymous band, while also gearing up for a few special Slayer reunion shows. Outside of music, the axeman is a decades-long fan of Raiders football.

With the 2024-2025 NFL season about to kick off, we caught up with King to discuss his Raiders fandom. The guitarist has seen the team move from Oakland to Los Angeles, then back to Oakland, and most recently to Las Vegas. Despite the various relocations, King has remained a loyal fan since first following the team back in the 1970s.

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King’s eponymous band released its debut album, From Hell I Rise, earlier this year. The outfit recently wrapped up a tour supporting Lamb of God and Mastodon, but has a handful of dates coming up in Mexico and Australia in November in December.

In the meantime, King will reunite with Slayer for their first shows in five years this fall. The legendary thrash band will play Riot Fest, Louder Than Life, and Aftershock, marking their first gigs since wrapping up a farewell tour in November 2019.

Below, Kerry King discusses his Raiders fandom, the team’s Super Bowl drought, his thoughts on this year’s team, and more, while also picking his “Big 4” NFL players.

As someone who grew up in Los Angeles, did you start following the Raiders when they moved to L.A. in 1982, or were you fan of the team before then, when they were still in Oakland?

I liked the Raiders when they were in Oakland. I’m a bad guy. I like the bad guys. The Raiders have always been bad guys. They’re the guys smoking on the sidelines. They’re the guys hung over, getting ready to go in and sack the quarterback and throw massive touchdowns. They’re the dudes hung over and smoking on the sidelines. So, I liked them from Oakland. I liked them in LA. I liked them back in Oakland, and I like them in Vegas. I’m not jaded by them leaving anywhere. I live in New York City now, but I was in Vegas when they came, and I still have my season seats there.