Steve Appleford of RollingStone.com conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King at the opening show of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival on June 30 at San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On returning to the studio in August to complete the songwriting process for SLAYER's next studio album, for which two songs have already been recorded:

Kerry: "If I get off my ass and start writing again on the road — since we've been in Europe, I keep trying to work on lyric ideas, maybe some leads, and fixing songs that didn't work correctly — it should be a real quick process."

On whether guitarist Jeff Hanneman — who in January 2011 contracted necrotizing fasciitis, likely caused by a spider bite, and has been undergoing surgeries, skin grafts and intense rehab since — will rejoin SLAYER on stage and in the studio in the near future:

Kerry: "He's rehearsed with us a number of times. He tried to do the Fun Fun Fun Fest [in Austin in November]. That's the last time he tried to get out and do a show, and he's just not there. It's no secret we're very intricate, especially rhythmically. But he can't do that yet. . . After Mayhem, we'll re-evaluate and see if he's any closer. We're planning for him to come back and the door is open, because it's his fucking gig. If he can play, Jeff Hanneman is going to fucking be here, and I'm stoked about that. I love playing with [Jeff's temporary replacement] Gary [Holt from EXODUS], and he's doing a killer job, but if Jeff came back and said 'I'm ready,' I'll check him out to see that he's ready, and off we go."

Read the entire interview from RollingStone.com.