10 Greatest Hard Rock Guitarists Of The '80s

Glam metal may have dominated most of the pop charts in the ‘80s, but another stripe of metal was rising from the underground. Emerging from the West Coast was a much more aggressive style of playing, with ugly vocals and some of the meatiest riffs that the metal world had ever produced. The beating heart of thrash had officially begun, and the pulse was Kerry King’s riffs.

While many metal bands pride themselves on the darker side of their sound, Slayer created sounds that literally felt like they were coming from the fallen angels in Hell, with King’s whammy bar serving as the screams. There was certainly a finesse to a lot of Slayer’s work, but the speed is something that is ingrained in a love for hard core punk. Slayer were as heavy as any other metal band out there, but King’s style of Judas Priest by way of Minor Threat sent shockwaves throughout the metal scene.

Any band could play a typical solo over a metal song, but how many could play those at a machine gun-like BPM like Kerry King? Though he mainly focuses on rhythm and the occasional lead licks, Kerry’s balls-to-the-wall approach to his craft has helped the entire metal community spread out into something much more exciting.