Photo By Kevin Estrada

Slayer guitarist Kerry King (far left) says the band's new album, Christ Illusion (due in stores Aug. 8), is among the heaviest they have ever produced

It might be normal for people to expect their musical tastes to mellow with age. But Kerry King never got that memo.

"There's like an unwritten rule, especially in America, to where you reach a certain age and you can't like Metal anymore," says King, guitarist in Slayer, one of the heaviest bands the genre has ever produced. "You're supposed to grow up. You're supposed to wear your fucking khakis and a shirt with a collar. But you can't listen to Metal. You've got to listen to fucking Barry Manilow or whatever the hell it is.

"I'm still 17," King says. "That's probably why our music kicks so much ass, because we're still kids. You don't have to grow up."

In fact, nearly 25 years into a career that began when Slayer formed in Los Angeles in 1982, the band is ready to release a new studio CD that King feels is as heavy and brutal as any record in the Slayer catalog. That takes some doing considering that Slayer is the band that pretty much invented Extreme Metal and created a sinister image that to this day scares radio programmers -- not to mention parents who would prefer that their kids listen to a more wholesome type of music.

Slayer albums like Reign In Blood (1985), South of Heaven (1988) and Seasons In The Abyss (1990) are considered ground-breaking classics that have inspired a legion of groups in a music scene that is today far more populated with Extreme Metal and Hardcore bands than it was in the 1980s. Few groups command the respect from Metal musicians that Slayer receives for its integrity and refusal to soften its sound in order to cater to radio and a larger audience.

The uncompromising attitude of King and his bandmates -- singer/bassist Tom Araya, guitarist Jeff Hanneman and drummer Dave Lombardo -- is apparently intact on the new Slayer CD, Christ Illusion. The long-delayed disc is now due in August, missing one intended target date -- appropriately, June 6, 2006 -- by a few months. A five-song EP preview, Eternal Pyre, was made available on 6/6/06 (declared "National Day of Slayer" by the band). Alas, you can only buy it at the decidedly non-devilish Hot Topic clothing chain.

Stylistically, King likens the new material to the band's 2001 release, God Hates Us All, an album he considers to be perhaps Slayer's darkest and most intense effort.

"I think they're similar records," King says. "After we did that, for a long time I ... was really questioning myself. Not that I couldn't out-do it, just, what was I going to do? What was I going to talk about? Things just worked their way out and we've got another 10 or 11 songs of debauchery to unleash on the world."

But don't get the idea the new album will be filled with themes of senseless violence and other forms of offensive behavior. In fact, several tracks look as if they will give the disc a topical edge. One such song is "Cult."

"It's about America, and my perspective is it's the biggest cult in the world," King says. " 'Cult' is just basically pointing out flaws in religion, the typical Slayer song."

A few songs relate to war, although King says the band was careful to not be so specific in the lyrics, so the songs could relate to future conflicts, and not just the current war in Iraq. "Jihad," might well provide the most controversial moment on the new CD, as it provides a view of war through the perspective of an enemy of the United States. King says he wouldn't be surprised to see "Jihad" ignite a storm of protest, much as Steve Earle experienced when he wrote "John Walker's Blues," a song in which Earle imagined how John Walker Lindh came to align himself with the Taliban.

"People make an assumption before they (read) the lyrics," King says. "I think that's going to happen with ('Jihad'). It's definitely not only human nature, it's very American-natured."

"Jihad" was actually written by Hanneman, who took a secondary role to King in the songwriting for the new CD. King, though, says there has been no major reason why he has been Slayer's primary songwriter on the two most recent albums. Having King do the lion's share of the writing tends to bring a certain flavor to Slayer albums that would change if Hanneman or Araya contributed more extensively.

"If it's predominantly something I've done, chances are it's going to be faster and less melody, more punch-in-the-face kind of music," King says. "Jeff, even though he plays the fast stuff too, he's definitely the moodier of the two of us. If Tom's involved, there's more melody involved, where mine's just borderline Punk, but in a thrashy kind of way."

With the new CD still awaiting release, King says the band plans to debut only one new song on its trek this summer headlining the "Unholy Alliance Tour."

"The bill's so big, I think we're only playing and hour and 10 (minutes), King says. "But off the top of my head, there will probably be one new song, probably 11 favorites and probably two (more obscure songs).

The set might be shorter than usual, but King thinks the rest of the "Unholy Alliance" bill will more than make up for Slayer's relatively compact set. With Lamb Of God, Mastodon and Children Of Bodom also featured, this tour boasts three of the most acclaimed newer bands on the heavy music scene.

"We're in a great position to where people want to play with us and we've got a big buzz," says King, noting that because Slayer hasn't toured in the U.S. for 18 months, there is considerable anticipation for the tour. "So in a sense we could cherry-pick bands that want to play with us. It's really cool because some of these guys you can't get, like, say, Mastodon and Children of Bodom, at the same time. But this tour's so big we have Lamb of God and both of those (bands). It's got a good buzz, so we'll see how things pan out."