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King rocks his BC Rich live (© Monster Cable)

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There's no one on Earth quite like Slayer's Kerry King. For over 20 years, the metal guitar master has defined and refined the meaning of the word 'heavy.'

"Heavy is a sound," King told MusicRadar in an interview we'll be posting next week, "but it's also a state of mind. Basically, if you don't think heavy, you're not going to sound heavy - simple as that. Luckily, Slayer has always been about total impact and complete sonic overkill. You can't get any heavier than Slayer, but if you wanna try, good luck with that!"

During our conversation, which covered everything from Slayer's upcoming album Painted In Blood to answering many of your questions, King offered his 3 top playing tips. "I'm not saying that if you follow these rules you'll suddenly wind up sounding like me.

"In fact, you shouldn't try to sound like me. But we'll get to that..."

1. Don't worry about staying in key

"There's nothing that says playing out of key is wrong," says King. "Of course, if you're thinking of what's traditionally accepted and bound by the 'rules of music,' you might disagree. But to me, anything that sounds good is right. Or anything that sounds weird is right. Bend the rules.

"I never would have written some of my cooler riffs if I got all hung on what notes are in tune or what notes go together. Take In The Name Of God, which is totally edgy. It starts out with an open E chord and then I slide my index finger from a B to a B-flat. I think the overall tuning is in C#.

"Now, normally everybody would tell you that the sound of an E chord and a B-flat note don't go together, but to me it sounds awesome. Bottom line: whenever somebody says 'You can't do that, because it's musically incorrect,' just give 'em the middle finger and say, 'Fuck it, I like it.'"

Next: Tips 2 and 3

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