Kerry King is heading back into the studio this April to record the follow-up to From Hell I Rise.
The 2024 debut came out in May via Reigning Phoenix Music and established something clear: a template worth repeating. The band he assembled, the production approach with Josh Wilbur at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and a directional commitment to doing exactly what Kerry King does without second-guessing it. Album two is being built on that same foundation.
He already has material in hand. The first batch of lyrics went to vocalist Mark Osegueda some time ago. King confirmed the pipeline in a 2025 interview with Reigning Phoenix Music's Reigning TV: "We have enough material for the next one already. I just started writing lyrics on it. I sent 'em to Mark Osegueda. He got the first song the other day. So, as long as I can get off my ass and get some lyrics happening, I would love to record before New Year's and then just give it to the record company and say, 'Whenever you want, there it is.'"
He didn't quite beat New Year's — studio is confirmed April 2026. But the intent was never in question, and Osegueda's response to what landed in his inbox tells you everything about the direction. "The lyrics to the new song are vicious," he said. If you know Osegueda's four-decade run with Death Angel — a band that has never softened its approach — you understand that word carries specific weight coming from him. He's not handing out easy compliments.
The band lineup stays intact: Osegueda on vocals, Phil Demmel (Machine Head, Vio-Lence) on guitar, Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah) on bass, Paul Bostaph (Slayer) on drums. Same unit that made the debut. King is targeting Josh Wilbur for production again, and he's been explicit about why that collaboration worked. "A lot of musicians say he's like the extra person in the band; he was like member number six," King said. "And he really was. His skill at the Pro Tools rig — he's so fast. He would get on his computer, and I'm just sitting there with my guitar, trying to figure out how to play something better. And he's just doing [something on] his computer, and he's, like, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. 'How's this?' I'm, like, 'I don't even know where you are.'"
What made the dynamic work wasn't just speed — it was Wilbur's willingness to push back. King acknowledged he shot down most of the producer's suggestions during the final rehearsal week before the debut, but held onto a few. "He had a couple that I didn't [think of]. I'm, like, 'I like that. I can't believe I didn't think of that.'" That balance — King's control, Wilbur's latitude to contribute — produced the record. The intent is to replicate it exactly.
On direction, King spoke plainly to Rolling Stone Brasil in April 2025. Asked whether album two would push into different territory, he said: "I think, overall, my thought would be just make an extension from what 'From Hell I Rise' is, just keep doing [things the same way], see what the next 10 or 12 [songs] sound like." Punk surfaced on the debut — tracks like "Everything I Hate About You" and "Two Fists" — and King didn't rule out more of it, but stopped short of committing to any specific direction. The point is that no significant pivot is coming. What From Hell I Rise established is the lane. The second album locks it in.
Co-writing is an open question this time. King authored all the lyrics on the debut largely by circumstance — the album was already written before Osegueda had even been offered the role. That may change. "That's not to say he will or won't write on record two," King noted. For a vocalist who's spent decades shaping Death Angel records, that door being open matters.
On the business side, Independent Artist Group has signed both Slayer and King's solo band for international representation outside the U.S. and Canada — with Mastodon joining the same IAG roster in the same announcement. Putting both the legacy brand and the solo project under one umbrella internationally signals the label treats this as a long-term operation, not a side project with an expiration date.
The live campaign off From Hell I Rise was substantial. King took the band through the European festival circuit — Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Download Festival, Sweden Rock — then hit North America supporting Lamb of God and Mastodon before a headline run that wrapped in February 2025. A full cycle, executed well. Going back into the studio just over a year after wrapping that run is the pace of someone who isn't interested in long gaps.
A new tour is planned for early 2027. Studio starts in April. The timeline is moving.
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Pick up From Hell I Rise on Amazon while you wait for the follow-up.
Pick up From Hell I Rise on Amazon.
