Kerry King -- the baddest dude to have a girl's name since the boy named "Sue"* -- has lent his name to one of the gnarliest signature collection guitars the world has ever seen, courtesy of B.C. Rich. 2009 will see the arrival of two new Kerry King models, called the Beast V and the Beast V NT.

The Beast V is a hybrid design combining the Beast and Speed V body shapes, touting the Beast horns and the extended fins of the V. It's the Jackalope of B.C. Rich body styles. The Beast V NT will sport a neck-through construction, active B.C. Rich pickups and a Khaler Tremolo, while the standard Beast V will be outfitted with a string-thru / tune-o-matic bridge and B.C.Rich B.D.S.M. humbuckers. While it might be a challenge to remember that NT stands for "Neck-Thru" and not "No-Trem", this simple mnemonic device should help:

"Adding NT To The Name Of The Beast V /
Doesn't Not Take Away The Trem-o-lo"

Good luck with that.

The (MSRP) Numbers of the Beast Vs haven't been announced, but stay "tuned" to Gearwire for updates as we head out to sunny Anneheim, CA for Winter NAMM 2009.

Other Kerry King related news: for 2009, the Generation 2 graphics will be made available for the V2 and Metal Master V2 model guitars. Huzzah!

*basically the exact opposite of Lindsey Buckingham. Not just a girl's name, but a BRITISH girl's name.