jeff hanneman
SHADOWS FALL, MALEVOLENT CREATION, Ex-HATE ETERNAL Members Pay Tribute To JEFF HANNEMAN (Video)
Sick Drummer Magazine has uploaded video footage of Derek Roddy (HATE ETERNAL, NILE, TODAY IS THE DAY), Gus Rios (MALEVOLENT CREATION) and Jason Bittner ( ) performing an instrumental cover version of SLAYER's "Angel Of Death" at this year's NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, which was held January 23-26 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. The clip, which is dedicated to the memory of SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman, can be seen below.
Lineup for the "Angel Of Death" performance:
Derek Roddy (HATE ETERNAL, NILE, TODAY IS THE DAY) - Guitar
Gus Rios (MALEVOLENT CREATION) - Guitar
Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL) – Drums
Jeff Hanneman died last year from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".
The guitarist, who passed away in Los Angeles on May 2, 2013, had actually not been playing with SLAYER for more than two years since he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard in January 2011. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.
Hanneman's last appearance with SLAYER was in April 2011, when he played an encore with the band at the "Big Four" concert in Indio, California.
SLAYER’s JEFF HANNEMAN Snubbed During GRAMMY ‘In Memoriam’ Tribute
Even though SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman died last year from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver, he was excluded from the list of faces and names showcased during Grammy Awards' "In Memoriam" segment last night (Sunday, January 26). Other notable hard rock and heavy metal musicians who passed away in 2013 but weren't recognized at last night's event included former IRON MAIDEN drummer Clive Burr and VIXEN's founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund.
SLAYER has been nominated for a "Best Metal Performance" Grammy Award five times and has won twice: in 2007 for "Eyes Of The Insane" and in 2008 for "Final Six".
When SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray and TYPE O NEGATIVE's Peter Steele failed to make the "In Memoriam" segment in 2011, less than a year after both of them passed away, Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), addressed the issue of stars being left out, saying that the "'In Memoriam' segment is a real connundrum, because we keep a list — and it's a sad job — of when we lose people in our industry, actually, starting this past week [for next year's awards show], because if it's very late, it's not something we can factor in. And this past year [2010] we had over 300 people in the industry pass, and many of them — all of them — important, so we have to, at the end of the day, make a selection, and you can't get everybody there, and we try to have a broad represenation of different genres and generations and so on. We're never happy with how that exactly turns out, [but] we have the list of everybody [who died] in our program book every year."
Hanneman is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".
The guitarist, who passed away in Los Angeles on May 2, 2013, had actually not been playing with SLAYER for more than two years since he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard in January 2011. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.
Hanneman's last appearance with SLAYER was in April 2011, when he played an encore with the band at the "Big Four" concert in Indio, California.
SLAYER’s KERRY KING: I Can’t Pretend To Be JEFF HANNEMAN
The February 2014 issue of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine features an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's next album — SLAYER's first following the passing of guitarist, and one of key songwriters, Jeff Hanneman.
"I've got assloads of songs!" King stated about SLAYER's next CD. "I mean, I'm more prepared than I've been before any record, working on this material for of three years. Me and Paul [Bostaph, drums] have demoed 11 songs. I'm sitting on 14 or 15 songs and I've got seven complete with lyrics already. I'm in great shape!"
Asked if he has found himself tempted to write the kind of songs that Jeff might have contributed to an album, Kerry said: "I think that would be shooting myself in the foot. I can't pretend to be Jeff. We both learned from each other in 30 years of writing together. As far as going out of my way to write something that Jeff might've done? I won't do that. If it happens to end up sounding that way, good for me!"
According to King, it's still undecided as to whether any of Hanneman's previously unused ideas will make it to the next SLAYER album. "There was a song we finished on the last record, but I know for a fact [Jeff] wanted to rewrite the lyrics on, so that one got to deconstruct and make better," he said.
"I've said, and I'll continue to say, that if we use any of Jeff's songs, I don't want it to come out just because Jeff wrote it. I want it to come out because it's awesome," he added. "We've just got to put out something that I think Jeff would be proud of."
Regarding what fans can expect from the new SLAYER material, King said: "I've got a surprising amount of heavy stuff for me. I do tend to lean on the fast side, but I have some exceptionally heavy tunes, Like, 'Wow, man, where did that come from?' I expect my stuff to be angry and fast, but it's all over the map. I'm stoked. We'll have enough so we can pick great stuff whether we use any of Jeff's material or not. It should add up to as good a record as we can hope for with one of our original songwriters being gone."
King also spoke about SLAYER's current touring lineup, which includes drummer Paul Bostaph and guitarist Gary Holt (also of EXODUS).
"Not to toot my own horn, but we sound fucking great right now," he said. "It's a juggernaut. Paul's a machine. He always has been. Also he's been here before, so that made this transition as easy as it could be as well as for the fans because I think they always felt he was part of the band, even t hough he wasn't for many years."
Asked if he is looking forward to shutting people up with the new SLAYER album, King said: "Oh, yeah, but only because people expect us to fail.
"I'm very stoked about the stuff we're gonna be putting out," he added.
"In a perfect world, which is never what happens in SLAYER, me and Paul plan on continuing to play to keep our chops up, and if we can get everybody on board, I want to start in January and have a record out before the summer."
TESTAMENT’s ALEX SKOLNICK: JEFF HANNEMAN’s Riffs Are ‘All Over’ SLAYER’s Iconic Tunes
Peter Atkinson of Metal-Rules.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Alex Skolnick of San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Metal-Rules.com: The last time you toured with SLAYER, was Jeff Hanneman still with the band?
Skolnick: The last time we toured with them, I think it must have been one of the last tours that Jeff did. Of course, no one knew that at the time. He hadn't developed his health issues so Gary [Holt, SLAYER's current touring guitarist] wasn't there yet, he was still going full-time with EXODUS, who we also toured with. You couldn't have known what was going to happen. That was 2010, and it was only 2011 when the "Big Four" shows happened and he [Hanneman] couldn't do those, which was such a shame.
Metal-Rules.com: You wrote a very eloquent and well-circulated tribute to Hanneman after his death. TESTAMENT toured with SLAYER many times, but did you really know him that well or was that more to show respect for his talents?
Skolnick: I never really knew him well at all. He was very difficult to get to know, actually. And I don't say that disrespectfully. Even close friends of his said it would take a long time to get to know him. Robb Flynn, a friend of ours from MACHINE HEAD, wrote that he'd toured with them, like, eight times and he still felt like he barely knew him. He kept to himself more. I don't think he related to many people — that was just the way he was — but he was a towering presence, no question. I wrote about him more from his reputation, which is tremendous. When you think about the music, the music is great and he is such a part of it. With all due respect to Kerry [King], when you take a look at the iconic SLAYER tunes, it'sHanneman's riffs all over it.
Metal-Rules.com: I haven't seen anything about Chuck's [Billy, TESTAMENT singer] health in a long time, so I'm assuming no news is good news there and his health is good. How's the rest of the band holding up, since none of you are kids anymore?
Skolnick: Yeah, thankfully, that's worked out really well. Chuck's been much better [after a battle with rare form of cancer in 2001]; he's been in great shape. Everybody in this band, knock on wood, is in relatively good health. I think as time goes on and you realize that you don't have as much free time as you once had, your perspective changes. Fortunately, most of us realize that and take better care of ourselves. I was always a lightweight when it came to alcohol and never really developed a taste for other substances, so I think that worked to my benefit. I was taking care of myself early on, and I would get a lot of funny looks, but it seems like now many people are catching up to me.
Metal-Rules.com: TESTAMENT's been pretty busy, especially over the last few years, and just about everyone has at least one other band going on the side — notably Gene [Hoglan, drummer] with DETHKLOK and now, apparently, with DARK ANGEL again. Are you all finding you are able to balance TESTAMENT with the other things you want to do?
Skolnick: That's been the toughest, I think, with Gene. I used to be the thorn in the side, with my trio shows and I was doing TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA for a long time. I narrowed it down to TESTAMENT, my trio [ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO] and a world music project I'm working on. But I have control over those, so I am able to let the chips fall where they may withTESTAMENT, because usually their shows are booked well in advance. Occasionally, there are some curveballs where we get last-minute things like festivals or something. I'm mostly able to work my activities around the TESTAMENT schedule. Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist] and Chuck do their side projects [DRAGONLORD and DUBLIN DEATH PATROL, respectively] so sporadically that it never poses scheduling problems. With Gene, it got a little bit easier when he wasn't playing in FEAR FACTORY anymore, which happened last year. And theDETHKLOK shows are usually booked far in advance, so we can work around those. Occasionally, he'll have to miss a few dates, a friend of ours, Mark Hernandez fromFORBIDDEN, was able to fill in and it worked out. But with all of us, we really feel like the core lineup and we do everything that we can so the fans get to see this lineup.
Read the entire interview at Metal-Rules.com.
PAUL BOSTAPH: SLAYER Is Honoring JEFF HANNEMAN By Continuing Without Him
Earlier this week, Dimitris Kontogeorgakos of Greece's Metal Kaoz conducted an interview with SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
On how it feels playing with SLAYER again:
Bostaph: "It feels phenomenal. It feels really good. It feels like being home. I've always loved playing this music. I grew up on it… Just coming back to this, it's been really good. It's kind of like going back and playing with old friends again. I mean, Kerry [King, guitar] and I were really close and we still are, and I'm close to Tom [Araya, bass/vocals]. And I know Gary [Holt] from EXODUS [who is filling in for late SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman] — I know Gary very well. The only bittersweet part of it, obviously, is that Jeff is not with us anymore. And I was looking forward to that, to playing with him again. But other than that, other than Jeff passing, it's been really good."
On his decision in December 2001 to leave SLAYER and how things are different today:
Bostaph: "Well, it's funny… I was different back then. The way I looked at things was different — right or wrong. And now I've had the time to kind of… Sometimes they say you don't know what you have until it's gone. And I think over the years, just seeing the guys and playing with different bands [since I left SLAYER], I kind of realized that playing with these guys is that there's a way that they do things that… In terms of… I don't know… It's hard to explain. There's a work ethic that appeals to me within this band. I think there's just a feeling of loving the music. First and foremost, and the primary thing out of everything, I couldn't find a band that could do what this band does. And that's the bottom line, really."
On whether he was the first and only name on SLAYER's list of possible replacements for the band's original drummer, Dave Lombardo, when Dave parted ways with SLAYER earlier this year:
Bostaph: "Honestly, I don't think so; I don't think I was the first and only [name on the list]. I mean, there's probably some other guys [that were being considered as well]. But I'm the guy that's here now. It made sense [for me to return]. I mean, you can't think anything for granted and think it's just gonna work. You have to try it out and see how things feel. It's been over [ten] years [since I left the band], and I'm sure they wanted to see how it felt playing together again, and being in a room together, you know what I mean?! You just don't make a snap judgment like that and [assume] that it's going to work. And they didn't. And we got together and we felt it out, and it felt really good, and here we are."
On how different it feels being in SLAYER without Jeff:
SLAYER’s TOM ARAYA: JEFF HANNEMAN’s Death ‘Has Changed Everything’
Brian Aberback of New Jersey's Steppin' Out magazine recently conducted an interview with SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. An excerpt from the chat follows below.
Steppin' Out: You just started doing press for this tour and know that everyone will be asking about [late SLAYER guitarist] Jeff [Hanneman]. How do you feel talking about everything that's gone on in the past six months?
Tom Araya: You know you're going to get those questions whether we decide to do press or not. If you don't do interviews, no one is aware that you're doing a tour. It wouldn't bother me if Kerry [King, guitar] did all the interviews. [laughs] But when I do interviews, I enter them with an open mind and try to answer the questions the best I can.
Steppin' Out: Did you have any idea that Jeff was seriously ill before he died?
Tom: Nobody ever thought about Jeff passing away. I thought about him getting better and getting back onstage. We've been talking about getting back in the studio for the last two years, with Jeff being a part of that. It was something to be continued.
Steppin' Out: Have you thought about folding the band following his death?
Tom: His death has changed everything. Knowing that Jeff was on the sidelines, I was OK. It was always about, "Jeff is going to come back." Then he passed away and it was more like, "Why am I doing this now?" It changed my attitude about some things. Someone said, "It's really great that you decided to tour and move on," but these tours were scheduled in advance. At the end of this tour, Kerry and I are going to have to sit down and talk as far as how we want to move forward, if we want to move forward. There hasn't been time for me and Kerry to talk. We've been on the road but we haven't really sat down and talked about it. Jeff and I collaborated a lot, and he offered me the opportunity to write or to collaborate with him. Like I said, there are things we have to discuss to either move forward or just to figure something out.
Steppin' Out: How tough was it playing the first shows after Jeff's death this summer in Europe?
SLAYER Hopes To Include JEFF HANNEMAN-Penned Material On Next Album
Earlier today (Monday, October 7), SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya spoke to Loudwire about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's next studio album — the group's first since the passing of guitarist Jeff Hanneman this past May.
SLAYER Hopes To Include JEFF HANNEMAN-Penned Material On Next Album
Earlier today (Monday, October 7), SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya spoke to Loudwire about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's next studio album — the group's first since the passing of guitarist Jeff Hanneman this past May.
"We have two songs," said Araya.
He added: "I haven't had the privilege of going through [Jeff's] audio files at the moment, but that's something I plan to do. Once we get some business squared away, that's something I plan to do; to go through his music and see what he has.
"I know that he had several ideas together that he had presented to us in the course of the past year. Before he passed away, there was one complete song that he had managed to send to everybody that I listened to and that I thought was really, really good and communicated that to him. There's stuff that I thought would be great to listen to just to see what's there and how we can possibly use what he had done. That's something I have every intension of doing."
Araya offered more information about the material that Jeff left behind that may end up on the next SLAYER record.
"One song was a song we didn't finish for [2009's] 'World Painted Blood'," he said. "That song is actually complete. Me and Jeff were working on melody and lyric ideas for that song. We weren't really happy with what we were doing or what was becoming of that song, so it didn't make it on the album. It was just something we were working on and we couldn't find anything we were happy with that would work well lyrically and melody-wise, so that's one reason why that one didn't make it on the album, but that song is complete, it's done, it's ready to go."
He continued: "I don't want to use the term 'typical' [laughs] but it's Jeff, it's obvious who put the song together. It's Jeff music. He created a certain way and he put music together a certain way; it's signature Jeff. It's new, it doesn't sound like anything else that we've done, in my opinion. Jeff usually just wrote songs and a lot of his stuff had certain signature things he would do to songs. That stuff is in there, but I would consider it new."
AT THE GATES Pays Tribute To SLAYER’s JEFF HANNEMAN At France’s HELLFEST (Video)
Fan-filmed video footage of Swedish melodic death metal pioneers AT THE GATES performing a cover version of the SLAYER classic "Captor Of Sin"on June 21 at this year's Hellfest in Clisson, France can be seen below.
When introducing the track, AT THE GATES vocalist Tomas Lindbergsaid: "This next song is not an AT THE GATES song, it's a cover. Without this band, the music that we love so much would not exist in this world as we know it. We wanna send this one out to one of the greatest songwriters of modern days. This one goes out to Mr. Jeff Hanneman. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you 'Captor Of Sin'."
A studio recording of AT THE GATES' version of "Captor Of Sin" was included on the reissue of the band's classic 1995 album "Slaughter Of The Soul".
Members of SLAYER released a statement on May 9 saying thatHanneman died of alcohol-related cirrhosis. He is credited for writing many of the band's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".