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    SLAYER’s Kerry King Chooses Metallica Over Megadeth: “Metallica Has A Singer. Sorry Dave.”

    SenecaBy 372 Comments2 Mins Read
    The Mosh Network - Kerry King promo photo 2025

    During a recent appearance on ‘Reigning TV’, Kerry King of Slayer and Mark Osegueda of Death Angel were asked to pick between thrash metal titans Metallica and Megadeth — and both sided with Metallica.

    While Osegueda didn’t hesitate to give his vote, King added a sharp jab with his reasoning:

    “I’m gonna be brutally honest. Metallica has a singer. Sorry Dave.”

    The discussion continued as the two were asked to choose between James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine, with both again favoring Hetfield. King followed up with another remark:

    “James Hetfield. Sorry Dave, I know I played in your band, but I’m going with James.”

    King briefly performed with Megadeth back in 1984, though his tenure was short-lived. Despite a cordial history since, King hasn’t always held back his opinions about Mustaine in interviews over the years.

    Ironically, Mustaine recently praised Hetfield’s vocal abilities while discussing Megadeth’s upcoming cover of Metallica’s “Ride The Lightning”, a track Mustaine originally co-wrote during his time in Metallica. Reflecting on Hetfield, Mustaine stated:

    “One day he’s a singer, the next day he’s this fucking powerhouse and I’ve always respected him as a guitar player.”

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    372 Comments

    2. Wayne Shepherd on

      Dave’s an awesome guitarist but he can’t sing for shit! But he’s on a much higher level of guitar playing!!!

      Reply
    5. Dan Jensen on

      I’m not sure it’s a fair assessment. You may not appreciate it but Megadeth has a gigantic footprint in the rock/metal world.

      Reply
    7. Miguel Martinez on

      I’m a huge Megadeth fan, Dave’s vocals stopped me from listening to them sooner because they’re so bad. I don’t mind so much anymore. Slayer has the most uninteresting melodies and same approach for every song. James is the best vocalist of the big 4 for sure, but metal isn’t exactly known for having amazing vocals.

      Reply
    11. Paulo Oliveira Fanaite on

      I’m with Kerry, Megadeth musically is awesome, until Dave starts singing, it’s like listening to Jerry Seinfeld !!!🤮

      Reply
    14. Nick Smith on

      To be fair, nobody listens to Slayer for the vocal skills besides the scream from Angel of Death.
      Recent live video hasn’t exactly been kind to Hetfield either lol, poor dude can’t even land a good “yeahhhh” anymore without warbling/yodeling. Dave became the best of the three in modern times literally by the default of still being able to perform his own music.
      None of them are or ever were Geoff Tate lol.

      Reply
    16. Jeremy Carnes on

      In fairness, Kerry, Tom isn’t exactly a master of melody. I love his loud, punk as fuck bark, but if we’re going by singing, that would place Metallica above Slayer, too. And I do not agree with that at all.

      Reply
    17. Alex Devis on

      Kerry King needs to stfu. His opinion means nothing. So what if he prefers metallica? King also doesn’t like anything maiden after their fourth album doesn’t mean shit.

      Reply
    18. Chris Hill on

      Why the fuck do people still argue over this shit. If you started listening to both from day one you know both fuckin band are great. I’ve seen em both 14 or 15 times always fun man

      Reply
      • Christopher C Beck on

        Chris Potter he did like the 1st 5 shows and quit, said he didn’t see how anyone could deal with Dave long.

        Reply
        • Matt Slove on

          Luigi Battaglia Megadeths history with band mates is terrible, apparently its really hard to get along with Dave.

          Reply
        • Kristofor Beck on

          Luigi Battaglia where are they now though? And the legions of band members speaks for itself, Dave fires people at whims and is miles behind Metallica in all stages of development, besides guitar soloing. That’s the one place Dave is better.

          Reply
        • Luigi Battaglia on

          Well let’s see… ellefson turned out to be a pedo so he got fired… nicks knees gave out so he couldn’t keep up on the drums and Marty went home to Japan and retired..

          Reply
        • Kramer L Andrew on

          Luigi Battaglia Poland and Gar were selling band equipment to pay for smack, Jeff Young went through Daves luggage on tour and got jealous over a note Doro Pesch wrote him. Some of these guys just had to go.

          Reply
    26. Joseph Ross on

      Dave Has A unique Voice. Dave never wanted to sing but NO one else could play and sing because it was to fast. So Dave said F It I’ll do it. Tom’s not a great Singer but he has a Great unique voice like Dave.. Kerry is Just a bitter man and it shows. I love Kerry King but he is a bitter guy

      Reply
        • Rosencranz N Gildenstern on

          Alan Moore he only wanted me to love him, he tolerated my evil. That’s a slight, and coming from him, an insult.

          Reply
        • Joseph Ross on

          Alan Moore Kerry always takes a shot at Dave when he gets a chance. He has opinions like everyone else. The big picture it means nothing

          Reply
    34. John Tomassi on

      Music is a form of entertainment.

      Sometimes being technical for the sake of being technical is always going to be less popular than music that is just energetic and fun.

      There’s that saying something like “a rock concert is where you play 3 chords in front of 10,000 people, a jazz concert is where you play 10,000 chords in front of 3 people”

      Dave ain’t jazz but you get it.

      Reply
    39. Al Jagusch on

      Vocal lessons killed Hetfields voice in my opinion…Black Album was the last of the ol’ tinge! Mustaine was Mustaine… you got what ya got! Some of that was brilliant! As much as I love Kerry King, Jeff was the better guitarist & songwriter, hands down!

      Reply
      • Vincent Costanza on

        Al Jagusch vocal lessons saved his voice…he said as he got older he could not continue to sing like he once did, but the old voice was 100 times better

        Reply
      • Scott Campbell on

        It’s really amusing to see all the Megadeth fanboys on here all butt hurt.

        I never understood the music as a competition aspect… I love all three of these bands, they just all took different tracks. Megadeth is no question the more technically proficient band of all of them. Metallica definitely went more melodic and blues. Slayer never changed.

        Only beta males are trying to prove how much better their favorite band is…

        Reply
        • Nathan Sharrock on

          Scott Campbell it’s just a common behavior people follow, not really that deep. Half of what people talk about is total semantical bs

          Reply
      • Derek Landry on

        Al Jagusch jeff hanneman was backbone of slayer with killer lyrics and heavy riffs like black magic .skeletons of society. Just to name a couple .honestly I think Kerry is still mad at mustaine for smashing his custom made guitar one time during an interview with mustaine who was always a dick when he drank which is part reason why he was kicked out of metallica in the first place.

        Reply
        • Mike Crosser on

          Derek Landry yep. Doesn’t matter how talented you are…..if you’re a drunken asshole that’s what people remember

          Reply
      • Dale Miles on

        Love them both separately but equally. Peace sells and Rust in peace were top tier. Cryptic writings was good too

        Reply
    43. Mike Zalewski on

      I grew up with the Peace Sells-era Megadeth. Still to this day I’ve never heard more piss and anger in a persons voice than Dave during that time. Just pure hatred in his voice.

      It was f@&$ing perfect

      Reply
    44. Stef Letang on

      Is he saying james can sing ?!?? JAMES CAN SING ?!? The only country singer on earth who tried and failed to sound metal ! That james ?!? James is the only singer who sounds as bad as dave ! Megadeth and metallicrap both never had a real singer

      Reply
    46. David Warner on

      WHOOOOO THE FUCK CARES!!!!! Damn, yall are worse than that show “The View”, DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA, just listen to the damn music and enjoy it! Fuckin a….

      Reply
    48. Bryan Layne on

      But Megadeth has a guitar player that smokes the entire Metallica roster twice over. I actually prefer Dave’s snarl to James’ pop level nonsense.

      Reply
    52. Chipper Jim on

      Une des raisons pourquoi je n’écoute pas les nouvelles chansons de Metallica est justement la voix de James Hetfield, je suis juste pas capable de l’écouter (bien chanté) comme les gens disent …mais pour moi c’est vraiment moins bon et ça marche pas.

      Reply
    53. Vincent Muskett on

      Used to have a singer. Now it’s just some guy with a beard who whines into the mic. Wait, I think I see something here.

      Reply
      • Rosencranz N Gildenstern on

        Dustin Miller his vocals were good at one time, but like James, his voice “popped” at one time and they got worse and worse as time went on.

        Reply
    59. Chris Frye on

      All the head banging has gone to their head.

      Countdown to Extinction over Black album 1 million times out of a million!!! 🖕

      Reply
    66. Aaron McDonell on

      Dave himself has stated he is “a guitarist that sings” and James is a “singer that plays guitar”. I don’t think this statement would bother Dave that much. Most people would deem Dave and Marty far better soloists than Kerry and Jeff, just saying. Please note, “soloists”, not riff writers/rhythm players.

      Reply
    67. John A. Berry on

      1️⃣ John Petrucci – supreme modern technical mastery
      2️⃣ Steve Morse – versatile, clean, flawless across genres
      3️⃣ Chet Atkins – fingerstyle master, control and coordination unmatched
      4️⃣ Gary Moore – expressive, precise, blues-rock virtuoso
      5️⃣ Zakk Wylde – heavy-metal technical powerhouse
      6️⃣ Patrick Souza – modern shred precision
      7️⃣ Lee Roy Parnell – slide and blues technique master
      8️⃣ Dave Mustaine – thrash rhythm genius
      9️⃣ Kirk Hammett – expressive lead, less versatile

      Reply
    70. Rosencranz N Gildenstern on

      The big 4 all had vocalists, but Joey Belladonna was the only actual singer out of all of them. But the best album of all of them is still Rust In Peace.

      Reply
      • Anthony Sims on

        Kevin Michael Keegan I think slayer comes up with some amazing riffs and then fucks it all up trying to be super fast. The first 30 seconds of rain in blood is some of the best riffing I’ve ever heard and then it just falls apart

        Reply
        • Kevin Michael Keegan on

          Anthony Sims I agree and use Slayer currently on my page for sharing the Gospel
          Check it out
          I use Raining blood and hell awaits
          Both great songs but I out grew the band years ago
          But I did try to reverse the mosh pit when Slayer and Megadeth toured about 15 years ago and got trampled by skinny jean maniacs but they helped me up but I couldn’t reverse the mosh pit! 🤣🤣🤣

          Reply
        • Dave Brooks on

          Kevin Michael Keegan I’ve always been curious. How does one “outgrow” a band or music in general”
          It seems to me people that “outgrow” music never really liked what they “outgrew” to begin with and were listening to it just to be cool or edgy.

          Reply
        • Kevin Michael Keegan on

          Dave Brooks lyrical content
          People grow apart from things they used to like all the time,after believing in Christs death burial and resurrection alone for Salvation I’ve simply changed,we are called to change!! 🫶

          Reply
        • Dave Brooks on

          Kevin Michael Keegan understood… i guess because im a “music first” guy, by a LONG shot, the lyrical aspect doesnt bother me. its VERY rare i wont listen to a song because of lyrics, and i honestly cant think of ONE song i like where i was iffy on the music but the lyrics swayed me.
          do you think the lyrics that are contrary to your beliefs might somehow affect your strength in those beliefs? im not trying to argue or make you ” look silly” im just genuinely curious. 🙂

          Reply
        • Kevin Michael Keegan on

          Dave Brooks Not at all,my beliefs are solid,I just see destruction and evil as I did before but I’m on the other side now so my mind isn’t mine completely as I’m gaining the mind of Christ but still am in the flesh but as we grow we are given Christ’s mind through following His Spirit and words (Romans through Philemon)and are Cut-Off from the spirit of the world.

          Reply
    88. Erik Van on

      Yea, yea, yea, the same people who bitch about Kerry, Will the same people who will pay to go see Kerry & Slayer 😂😂😂😂

      Reply
    89. BoPré Recordman Sam on

      Katty Perry now you slutty albums from Slayer!!!!!! what a entire pill of nothing to try to burn for nothing! …. You imagine the amount of Carbon Tax like so saide Trudeau would terrorise us for! Yet your bunch of no good are going to terroriess us, right???? Piece of no good to liave!!!!!

      Reply
      • Ivan Lenic on

        Joseph Reed And he doesn’t care. He does what he does, never going around pretending that he is great guitar player. Praise comes from other fellow musicians about his rhythm playing and work rate. Dave Ellefson said about Kerry (when he joined Megadeth briefly at early 80s) That Dave would throw riffs at Kerry and that Kerry would be able to repeat everything right away note for note.

        Reply
      • Scott Berbick on

        Joseph Reed excellent response. I’d listen to Metallica and Megadeth if they had no vocals. They outclass King on the guitar ALL day, every day. King is the crappiest player of the Big Four.

        Reply
    103. Kyle Matthew on

      Correct. Megadeth would be astronomically better with an actual vocalist but Mustaine’s ego would never allow it.

      Reply
    108. Daniel Meyers on

      to me dave’s vocals on countdown album are better than anything james ever sang…. thats just my opinion i love his tone

      Reply
    112. Wyatt Burton on

      What will bullshit music rags do when Dave finally retires? Will they continue to beat this dead horse for the engagement? Probably!

      Reply
    113. Six Damming on

      Hahà!!! Finally!!! A person who matters says it!!! I’m saying this all my life. I don’t call Dave not 4 nothing MUMBLING MUSTAINE
      😆😆😆

      Reply
    114. Brian Gold on

      Except Dave is a thousand times better of a guitar player than Keery is and everyone knows Jeff was a thousand times better than Kerry in Slayer. This guy talks to much shit for his lack of talent.

      Reply
    115. Kenny Strickland on

      Kevin Michael Keegan bullshit!! Slayer helped pave the way just like the other 4 did. Just because you don’t like them doesn’t mean that they’re not in the conversation.

      Reply
    118. Brian Mills on

      Fuck Slayer
      The singer just hollered into the microphone
      Songwriting?????
      You got a couple mentionables but all in all
      Just fucking noise

      Reply
    122. Andrew Hollingsworth on

      After the first couple of albums and KK ran out of leads everything after that sounded like scribble and Jeff propped him up for the rest of the ride. RIP Jeff. Fall off a cliff KK it may improve your current style. How can he be taken seriously now 🤦‍♂️

      Reply
    125. Pablo M Mustaine on

      weird comment from Kerry, I don´t see the problem with Dave´s vocals, it´s a lot more original than hetfield´s voice, I choose Mustaine 1000 times.

      Reply
    126. Mosco Vera on

      Everyone knows Dave never had a good voice,that’s why he always sing with a tight mouth,but his all princess fans never accepted,sad but true

      Reply
    129. Fred Rock on

      In my opinion, BOTH are great bands, but i think megadeth is better because Metallica’s music starting being less awesome after the black album- I mean, after the black album, the albums to entirety were not what they used to be. That is, in my opinion, they’re last entirely good album

      Reply
        • Mickey Scott on

          Shannon Black gotta make a point, my man. At least you didn’t come at me pissed that I didn’t include Geoff Tate. Lol…

          Reply
    140. Alex Kovic on

      I have always thought had Dave just stuck to guitar and hired a vocalist, Megadeth could have been as huge maybe even bigger than Metallica. Dave is a killer guitarist and songwriter but I totally agree with Kerry.

      Reply
    141. Arsi Lumme on

      thinking art is some kind of straight line from 0% to 100% and you can measure the better from worse with math especially when this not about 3 year novices against 30 year professionals just means someone’s brain doesn’t quite work very well.
      it’s kinda like measuring the taste of a pineapple and beetroot or something and thinking you’re on some high scientific objective level with your research (i love both by the way and yeah, i thought of apples and oranges to be a bit used).

      but what the he*l… can’t blame these artists farting these cliches to interviewers every now and then. it’s likely that they mostly do it just for the clicks without anything deeper there. the opinion may or may not be true whenever but it’s super cheap clicks for the media providing and of course for themselves to be noticed that they still exist.
      they get called out for spilling out stuff that’s nonsense or even in some cases sounding like a broken record for the 40th year in row but… it magically works every time.

      btw, nice twist of perhaps provoking even more by that subtle not being biased in favour of the better guitarist.
      and sure, not much wrong with having an opinion in itself.

      Reply
    142. Shane Huntley on

      Ya but, anything that comes out of Kerry King’s mouth the past few years is b.s. I mean, he tried to discredit Hanneman. Oh, and there’s always that tool in metal that talks $hit!

      Reply
    150. Todd Sierfeld on

      And who really cares who they choose.It was a bait question because she probably knew KFK was gonna KFK himself. Metallica over Megadeth so fuckin what.The fact is there is so many bands in all forms of Metal that are unique and great in there own way just enjoy who you enjoy.Rating them is a waste of time it’s just preference

      Reply
    156. Gerald Wood on

      Mustaine plays better than anyone in Metallica , Slayer, Anthrax and Dave doesn’t yell “yeah” every 30 seconds. Who the fuck cares what a short bald fat fuck thinks anyways?

      Reply
    157. Herb Dierking on

      If that truly mattered, Anthrax had two singers (Belladonna and Bush) that were easily the best among the Big 4.

      Reply
    161. Matt Belanger on

      Sorry,I love my old Metallica and megadeth but James can’t sing to save his damn life ! Unless you can count Eww Yeahh! as singing

      Reply
    163. Kevin Ball on

      Considering you write shit music who the fk cares. No goddamn way in any universe is Metallica better than Megadeth.

      Reply
    165. Derek's Chilling on

      And slayer had lost a great shredding songwriter…your point? Oh yea…your solo record…theres my point 😂😆😂

      Reply
    174. Jóhann Þór Línberg Kristjánsson on

      Megadeth has a guitar player.. sorry Kirk… Megadeth has a drummer. Sorry Lars.. Megadeth has a songwriter. Sorry James

      Reply
    178. Corrie Knight on

      Metallica used to be a great band there still a great band they just make terrible music now….megadeth on the other hand are a great band still making great music 🤷‍♂️

      Reply
    180. Kenneth Stiles on

      I noticed he ain’t talkin smack about his guitar playin lol maybe there isn’t any room for him to talk on that subject .

      Reply
    183. Ron Kelley on

      I think Kerry is looking for a massive tour with metallica I get it. Everybody has their preference. Mine just happens to be Megadeth. I like both slayer and Metallica just don’t get this other than the fact he’s looking for a big ride opening for Metallica.

      Reply
    186. Mark Wilson on

      Oh and Slayer has what? Dave’s voice has distinction and character. I pick song writing over nit picking a guy. Megadeth stayed true to their fan base. And never cut off his hair! Lol

      Reply
    190. Lizzette Nieves on

      DAVE all the way❤️there is no comparison one still wears his old school jeans while the other dresses in PRADA now…

      Reply
    191. Jeremiah Walter Lautaret on

      Kerry is super biased. Never liked slayer at all. That doesn’t mean they ain’t metal. I just don’t like them.

      Reply
    192. Rocco Stagnitto on

      At this point their careers Id say thez are equally cringeworthy. At least Dave has a distinctive voice while James just sounds like someone who cant sing yet they make the vocals overpower the music anyway. If I had to choose one over the other it would absolutely be Metallica but thats ONLY because I believe they own the 2 best metal albums in history. Load and re.. hahahaha sorry I cant even type that. Ride the lightning and Master if puppets. Garage days was their 3rd best effort eve tho they were covers. Everything after that was a slow, agonizing decay into irrelevancy. Just my 2 cents.

      Reply
    196. Marshall Candelaria on

      James is a better vocalist on paper, sure, but I can’t stand it regardless. Ending every other line with “YeahAhhhhAgh!” is fucking unlistenable.

      Reply
    199. Eli Gomez on

      1. Dave never said he was a great singer.
      2. Just because a band has a good singer, doesn’t make them a better band.
      3. Megadeth didn’t put out “Lulu”
      4. Megadeth may have some bad albums, but even their bad albums are better than Lulu, St. Anger, 72 Seasons, Load and Re-Load. (But that doesn’t mean Megadeth is better.)
      5. Metallica’s best material was their earlier work, where Dave contributed.

      Reply
    207. Richard C Begay on

      Dave Mustaine’s a thrash metal icon, and his work with Megadeth is legendary. His guitar playing is top-notch, and he’s a masterful songwriter. In my book, Mustaine’s skills on guitar trump Kerry King’s – he’s a true original. And let’s be real, Mustaine’s never compromised his metal cred, unlike some other bands that went the ‘makeup’ route. Respect to Dave for staying true to the genre!

      Reply
    209. Shane Michael on

      He hasn’t been shit since Jeff died. The shittiest band of the big four.. his opinion is barely valid. And Tom certainly is no singer.. lol

      Reply
    210. Peter Lupien on

      I mean, he’s not wrong. Anyone can sing as well as Dave. I’ve heard drunk chicks sing Britney karaoke better.

      Reply
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