WWE wrestler Damian Priest has given his entrance song a refresh with the help of Slayer’s Kerry King.
King plays guitar on Priest’s new theme, which debuted on Monday (November 11) during WWE’s weekly Raw broadcast. The axeman confirmed his involvement in the new tune via X (formerly Twitter) yesterday (November 14). Have a listen below.
Priest signed with WWE in 2018 and is a former United States Champion. At the 40th edition of Wrestlemania, the company’s flagship event, in April, the wrestler became the company’s first Puerto Rican-born World Heavyweight Champion in 50 years. He held the title for four months before losing it to Gunther at Summerslam. Priest gets his rematch at the Survivor Series: Wargames event on Saturday, November 30.
King’s involvement with WWE adds to what’s been an incredibly busy 2024 for the gauntlet-wielding guitar hero. In February, he released his first solo music and announced his debut solo album, From Hell I Rise, would drop in May.
Just days later, Slayer shockingly announced their return, having previously retired in November 2019. The band played their comeback show at Riot Fest in Chicago in September, then a second set at Aftershock festival in Sacramento the following month. A planned Louder Than Life festival performance was cancelled due to dangerous weather, but the thrash legends will headline the event in 2025.
In between all of that, King also declared his intention to record a second solo album this year. He told The Aquarian in May, “I said to Paul [Bostaph, drums], ‘I want to go immediately into the studio and bang out record two [after King’s 2024 solo tour wraps up]. When you’re fresh off the tour and sharp, you can do a super quick performance because we’ll all be rehearsed on it. That’s the plan.’”
King hasn’t performed on a theme song for a WWE wrestler before. However, Slayer originally recorded the God Hates Us All track Here Comes The Pain for a compilation album by now-defunct promotion WCW in 1999.
Furthermore, WWE has licensed Slayer’s music in the past. At Wrestlemania 39 in 2023, it used the band’s 1988 song South Of Heaven as a one-off entrance theme for veteran wrestler Edge.
Priest explained his deep-rooted passion for metal in a Metal Hammer interview in April. “I would say that Metallica and Ozzy were my first [bands] where I was like, ‘Oh, I love this,’” he said. “That’s what really got me hooked on heavy metal.”
.@WWE wrestler @ArcherOfInfamy recruited Kerry King to record the guitar part for his entrance song "Rise For The Night." pic.twitter.com/T4oWYAwzpkNovember 14, 2024
