During a recent appearance on the Lipps Service With Scott Lipps podcast, Kerry King candidly shared that he couldn’t handle spending more than 20 minutes with Dave Mustaine. The Slayer guitarist spoke frankly about his complicated relationship with the Megadeth frontman.

“Mustaine’s cool, but Mustaine’s one of those guys that he can’t help but stick his foot in his mouth,” King said, explaining why he often keeps his interactions with Mustaine brief. “So, I’ll take my 20 minutes and I’ll bolt just before anything gets uncomfortable.”

King also reflected on his relationship with Metallica members, comparing it to his experiences with Mustaine. He mentioned that, despite their similar careers, he and Metallica’s James Hetfield have rarely crossed paths over the years. “It’s funny, James is one of those guys, even though we’ve got basically the same career, different circles, we did the [shows featuring the] ‘Big Four’ [of 1980s thrash metal], he made a point to come say ‘hey’ to us, but it’s funny that it hasn’t occurred in the 40 years we’ve both been doing this that I’ve rarely seen James,” King shared.

However, Kerry had positive things to say about the other members of Metallica. He described Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and Lars Ulrich as “cool,” noting that they’d hang out whenever they felt like it. “Kirk’s cool, Rob’s cool, Lars is cool. We hang out when they feel like hanging out. Yeah, that’s all of ’em,” King added.

Reflecting on his past, Kerry King also revealed in a 2024 interview with Metal Hammer which band he would have joined if given the opportunity. “I was almost in Megadeth,” King revealed. “I think if myself and Dave Mustaine could have co-existed for four years, it would have been a very different band. I’m not saying I’d have made them better — I’d have made them different.”

This admission offers a fascinating glimpse into what might have been in the thrash metal world if King had joined Mustaine’s iconic band.