WHAT WENT DOWN
Kerry King brought his solo band back to the stage July 4 at Summerfest in Milwaukee after a nine-month break, stepping in as headliner after Megadeth pulled out in April *. The 16-song set at the Miller Lite Oasis stage included three Slayer covers and a Black Sabbath deep cut *.
THE DETAILS
- King's band — Mark Osegueda on vocals, Phil Demmel on guitar, Kyle Sanders on bass, Paul Bostaph on drums — hadn't played live since October 2025 *
- The setlist pulled from King's 2024 debut *From Hell I Rise* and covered "Repentless," "Disciple," "Raining Blood," and "Black Magic" from the Slayer catalog, plus Black Sabbath's "Wicked World" *
- Megadeth withdrew from the festival slot in April citing a scheduling conflict *
- King was scheduled to enter the studio in April to start his second solo album and plans to launch a new tour in early 2027 *
- Osegueda said the new lyrics King sent him are "vicious" *
THE TAKE
King kept his band off the road for most of 2026 to focus on writing and recording, then took a festival headliner slot on short notice. The gap between *From Hell I Rise* in May 2024 and the next album will be roughly three years if the early 2027 tour timeline holds *.
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