Kerry King (Slayer)

Main years active: 1983 to date

Slayer are best known for insanely fast thrash metal albums such as ‘Reign In Blood’ (1986), but at times even their nippiest songs included a slow groove that nodded directly towards vintage-era Sabbath. Occasionally, the primary songwriter, Kerry King, even penned a fully slow-and-heavy song that owed most of its sound to the template established by Iommi two decades before. One example is ‘Gemini’, which appeared on the otherwise regrettable ‘Undisputed Attitude’ album in 1996: the song stood out among the tepid punk covers on the rest of the record thanks to its vast opening riff, courtesy of King’s first ever seven-string BC Rich.

Slayer ‘Gemini’

Total Guitar issue 210 (originally on sale 24 December - 20 January) featured Tony Iommi on the cover and contained 11-pages of Iommi coverage, including an in-depth interview and a complete tab of 'Planet Caravan'.