As he looks forward to sharing a stage with Slayer and King Diamond on the Mayhem Festival, he tells California Rock News: "Slayer is one of those bands - heavy metal music kind of saved my life.

"There were so many times when I didn't fit in, as a kid, being a metalhead, and not understanding why. And you hear heavy metal, and you're, like, 'Oh, I'm just hanging out with the wrong people.'

"Slayer is one of those bands that I just gravitated toward. When I was really young, Show No Mercy, Haunting The Chapel, Reign In Blood, South Of Heaven those records changed my life.