Slayer’s Kerry King and the 30 greatest New Jersey guitarists of all time – only in the new Guitar World

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(Image credit: Rayon Richards/Future)

As you can tell from the prize-winning photo below, Kerry King recently visited Guitar World’s NYC studio.

We offered him some mediocre coffee, shot the breeze and – oh, yeah! – shot a bunch of photos, one of which graces our July 2024 cover (King’s first GW cover appearance since November 2015).

King – a native (and longtime) SoCal guy – is now a very happy Manhattanite, which is great news for us, since NYC cover shoots are so rare. Do you have any idea how many American rock stars live in either Nashville or California these days? Anyway, welcome to NYC, Kerry. Let’s grab an everything bagel at Zabar’s!

And speaking of local stuff, you’ll probably notice that we decided to spotlight the 30 all-time greatest New Jersey guitarists in this issue – New Jersey, as in the neighboring state to the west (and south).

Why New Jersey, you ask? Hey, what can I say? I was born in the same maternity ward as Al Di Meola, and I’d bet $3.57 that Claydes “Charles” Smith, Al Caiola and Frank Infante were born there too. I even went to the same high school as Infante… But don’t worry, California, New York, Michigan (and many other states) – we’ll get there!

[from left] Me, Kerry King and GW video editor Alan Chaput (Image credit: Rayon Richards/Future)All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!

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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He’s written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan’s ‘The Complete Epic Recordings Collection’ (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn’s The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.