Ten Years Gone: Remembering Legendary Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman
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The post Ten Years Gone: Remembering Legendary Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman appeared first on Consequence.
It’s hard to believe that May 2nd, 2023 marks a full decade since the passing of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman. One of the founding members of the trailblazing thrash band (along with singer-bassist Tom Araya, guitarist Kerry King, and drummer Dave Lombardo), Hanneman proved to be a crucial element of Slayer’s sound and approach. Case in point, his gift for shredding-yet-emotive solos (“Seasons in the Abyss”), remarkable riffs (“South of Heaven”), and also, chilling lyrics (“Angel of Death”).
On the strength of such now-classic albums as Hell Awaits, Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, and Seasons in the Abyss (among other titles), Slayer played a major role in the creation of extreme metal. And if you were to take a gander at the songwriting credits of Slayer’s albums, Hanneman had a hand in the construction of just about every track.
Hanneman remained a member of Slayer from their formation in 1981 until a spider bite on his right arm in 2011 led to him contracting the flesh-eating disease necrotizing fasciitis.
Exodus guitarist Gary Holt filled in for Hanneman, who eventually passed away from liver failure (caused by alcohol-related cirrhosis) on May 2nd, 2013, at the age of 49. Slayer continued on with a lineup featuring Araya, King, Holt and drummer Paul Bostaph (replacing Lombardo, who exited the band in 2013) until concluding their run with a farewell tour in 2019.
“I’ve never tried to replicate Jeff’s solos exactly how he played them, because I can’t,” Holt explained to Heavy Consequence earlier this year. “And they didn’t ask me to do it… There’s only one guy that can play like that… outside of these ‘tribute band guys’ that mastered that. So for me, I tried to mimic ‘vibe’ more than ‘notes’ – because it’s two totally opposed styles. But at the same time, not. Jeff was super-frantic. I play frantic but I play a little differently.”
Like the other bands that comprised the Big 4 of thrash metal (Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax), Slayer’s guitar duo played a major role, and had no trouble keeping up with Lombardo’s rapid fire tempos. But while quite a few of the other metal guitarists of the era were all about precision and fretboard acrobatics, the solos of Hanneman and King added a frenzied element, that while not as technically demanding as your Yngwie Malmsteens, fit such tracks as “Hell Awaits,” “Raining Blood,” and “War Ensemble” perfectly (and both were never afraid to wham on their instruments’ whammy bars).
Annihilator guitarist Jeff Waters explained what made the guitar tandem of Hanneman and King so special and influential on subsequent metal guitarists, in the book Shredders!: The Oral History of Speed Guitar (and More). “Hanneman and King – some would say, ‘The Slayer guys, what are they doing? They’re playing out of key.’ And you’ve got to laugh, because those guys have their own style, and that’s more important than doing an awesome, fast scale, and doing this diminished scale, and doing it really fast and clear, and doing it like a teacher would do or the guitar shredding guys would do. This is style. They had their own style and they stuck with it. And Hanneman, King, and [Kirk] Hammett had that style.”
“You can’t put Hanneman, King, and Hammett in [a ‘technical category’]. But to me, that technical category is so not important – compared to, ‘Is it their own style?’ and ‘Is it amazing?’ That’s so much more important than just technically being a good player. I mean, there’s a million good players out there – that’s not what it’s about.”
Born on January 31st, 1964 in Oakland, California, Hanneman married his wife Kathryn in 1989 (they apparently met at a Slayer show six years earlier); enjoyed metal as much as punk (listing band such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, and TSOL as favorites); and, as evidenced by a design on one of his ESP guitars, preferred Heineken as his beer of choice (playing off the beer’s design for his own “Hanneman” logo).
Shortly after Hanneman’s death, Lombardo opened up in the book Survival of the Fittest: Heavy Metal in the 1990s about how he would like his friend and former bandmate to be remembered.
“To me, Jeff Hanneman was one of the most amazing composers of metal music of our time,” declared Lombardo. “His choices of notes that he used in his guitar playing were notes chosen by what he felt in his heart. And because he wasn’t taught how to play guitar — he was self-taught as a musician — I think that makes him even more of an exceptional musician than somebody who is taught, because usually, they go by the book and they have no sense of creativity. But he was able to step out and create something new and fresh that nobody else was doing at the time.”
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Lombardo continued, “As a human being, Jeff was kind and a great friend. He was always very helpful and just a good person. He would spend a lot of time on the tour bus before the show, and sometimes after the show. He wouldn’t venture out much – he wouldn’t go out into the dressing room and party and whatever. He would stay on the bus and have his own party. And I would be – the majority of the time – on the bus, and we would have a blast. We would have a really, really good time. He is definitely missed.”
While there was truly no replacing Hanneman in Slayer, Holt did get the guitarist’s seal of approval. In speaking with Heavy Consequence, Holt relayed the story of Slayer telling Hanneman that they were going to use a fill in, as shared by Hanneman’s widow Kathy: “His head sunk, and he was bummed. And then he lifted his head, and said, ‘Who is it?’ And they said ‘Gary Holt,’ and Kathy said, he goes, ‘Fuck yeah!’”
Jeff Hanneman, rest in peace.
Ten Years Gone: Remembering Legendary Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman
Greg Prato
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