THE AXES OF A KING

KERRY KING'S JOURNEY FROM B.C. RICH TO ESP TO DEAN

- Jon Wiederhorn

OVER THE DECADES, Kerry King has been endorsed by B.C. Rich, ESP and now Dean. As much as he has always loved the company’s guitars, he wasn’t ready to work with them when they first approached him shortly after the death of former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell.

“I was friends with a lot of the Dean people, even though I didn’t use their guitars ’cause Dime was there, and he and I were good friends,” King says. “When Dime unfortunately left us, Dean wanted me the next day. They needed a new guy. I had a great deal with B.C. Rich, and Dean didn’t want to match it. I’m like, ‘Why am I leaving if you’re not gonna match my deal?’ So I stayed with B.C. Rich until almost the end of the Slayer run.”

That’s when Dean made King an offer he couldn’t refuse, and, just in time for his musical rebirth as Kerry King, he was adopted by a new guitar company. “That’s my new family now,” he says. “I’ve only used Dean onstage for about a month, so it’s still very new to me. But I did the new album with Dean guitars. I knew the owner’s dad [Elliott Rubinson] before he passed away, and now I’m really tight with everyone over there. And I’m super loyal. If you don’t give me a reason to leave, I won’t.”

To date, Dean has created two signature guitars for King, the USA Kerry King V (limited edition 50 PC) and the USA Kerry King Overlord Battalion Grey, and there’s more to come. Below, King discusses the particulars of his Dean guitars and how he landed his past endorsement deals.

Your first B.C. Rich was a Mockingbird. Was that before you were endorsed?