The metal world is still shocked about the news that broke yesterday that Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman of Slayer passed away due to liver failure at the young age of 49. Musicians everywhere have been paying tribute, and here is a roundup of their kind words for the influential guitarist:
First, his longtime bandmate, Dave Lombardo:
I'm deeply saddened shocked and speechless. It's difficult for me to write my feelings at this moment. My heart goes out to #KathyHanneman.
— Dave Lombardo (@TheDaveLombardo) May 3, 2013
Dave Mustaine of Megadeth posted this on Facebook:
We send our condolences and deepest sympathies to the family, friends, and fans of Jeff Hanneman. Our hearts go out to his brothers in Slayer. Tonight one less star will be shining and sadly, the stage got just a little bit darker. Jeff Hanneman 1964-2013.
Metallica posted "RIP Jeff Hanneman" to their Facebook page with the following killer image attached:
Machine Head's Robb Flynn shared a very touching tribute:
Still can't believe that Jeff Hanneman from Slayer is dead, things like that just don't happen. Thrashers don't die??!! WTF!!??
I'm not going to sit here and say how him and I were best buds or something, we definitely weren't, I'd barely call us acquaintances, I did 8 tours and over 120 shows with the dude and honestly, I never really got to "know him". I was always closer with Kerry. Jeff was super quiet, really kept to himself, would get rowdy when he was drunk, but was a bit aloof, and seemed annoyed at the people partying around him despite the fact that he himself would be getting hammered.
I can remember some good hangs with him though. The first was in Basel, Switzerland back in November, 1994 when Machine Head was main support to Slayer on the Divine Intervention tour. It was one of those shows were something so random happens it just never leaves you, in this case, the show was sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes and every kid entering the show got 2 free packs of smokes. I've never seen so much smoke in a venue in my life. I remember walking onstage and yelling at our roadie / everything-guy Mike Scum, "DUDE, turn off the fuckin' smoke machine", he said "YOOOOO, it's not the smoke machine bro, it's the cigarettes!" It was damn near impossible to breath onstage. After the show we were hanging backstage and Jeff walked back, we started bitching about the crazy cigarette show, and he invited me back to the dressing room to grab a beer, we sat down and chatted for a while, and then I went all Slayer-nerd on him and started grilling him on what songs he wrote.
Me: "Who wrote Angel Of Death?"
Jeff: "I did"
Me: "Lyrics too?"
Jeff: "Yep"
Me: "Reign In Blood?"
Jeff: "Me"
Me: "Dead Skin Mask?"
Jeff: "Yep"
Me: "South Of Heaven?"
Jeff: "Me"
Me: "Black Magic?"
Jeff: "You know it"
Me: "Hell Awaits?"
Jeff: "Yep"On and on it went, that man wrote both the music and lyrics to a large goddamn portion of my favorite Slayer songs. He was a huge influence on my songwriting growing up in particular with arrangements and the bold use of key changes. The one thing Slayer band always had over so many other bands is they were all over the guitar neck when it came to key changes. Leads would be in some of the most random keys ever, but somehow it made it all that much more frantic, and when the chorus kicked back in, BOOM! CRUSHING! Set up perfectly. He was one of the few metal heads I met who never really got into Pantera, he told me he "liked some stuff", but thought they we're "too bluesy at times", and that he "liked more evil notes or sad riffs"
Another good memory was sharing a tour bus on the August 2001 Korean / Japan / Australia tour, it was all fly-dates and hotels, we were sharing crew, tour manager and manager, so we all rode on the bus together to and from the airport to the hotel every day. Sometimes the rides were an hour or two, so you'd just all BS and hang. One time a kid in Australia bum-rushed the bus while we were all sitting in it, hammered after partying one night. He was desperate for autographs and came on the bus screaming (what else?) "SLAAAAAAAAAYYYYYEEEEERRRR!!!" He then saw me and went all, "Oh shit, Robb Flynn, mate I fuckin' LOVE Machine Head, but it's fuckin' SLAAAAAAAYYYYYYYEEEERRRRR", I looked the fucker right in the eye and slurred, "Oh just FUCK RIGHT OFF!!" Hanneman fell out dying, he laughed for 10 minutes straight, cracked him up, that slightly feminine high pitched giggle that he always did.
Dude backed me when Kerry King and I were beefin' all that time long ago, he would come up to me at festivals and would talk, just be normal. He even backed me in Decibel magazine when they asked him about the beef, saying "Robb is a good dude", and that "Kerry was like the girlfriend of the band, always beefin' with someone". I got a good laugh outta that.
The last memory I'll share is from the American leg of the Divine Intervention tour in March 1995. It was Slayer band, Biohazard supporting, and Machine Head opening. We were playing the International Ballroom in Atlanta, Georgia. He had been sitting out some of the new songs from "Divine", which was odd to me. We were hanging out in their dressing room before the show, just him and I, and I mustered up the nerve to ask him what the deal with it was. At first he joked that he just "didn't feel like learning them, didn't like 'em, Kerry wrote them", he was chuckling, and then he stopped. He looked down and got serious. He said he'd been having a lot of pain in his wrists, his hands and wrists were going numb all the time, and would go numb during those songs because they were really fast, then he started to cry. It was a startling confession. I offered some awkward feel-good comment, but he just continued to cry, and I decided to sit there in the silence with him for a minute. He gave me a hug, and said "Whoa!", and laughed, walked out toward the stage, turned back and said "thanks dude".
It was an intense moment, one of those rare, intense moments you have with someone, let alone with someone from another band.
It made me really respect the dude.
That's the Jeff I'm gonna remember.
To Kerry, Tom, Dave, Paul, Rick Sales Mgmt and Jeff's family, my sincere condolences.
R.I.P brother.
Tragic & shocking news about Jeff Hanneman. He is going to missed by so many. What a sad day for Metal. RIP man.
— Slash (@Slash) May 2, 2013
RIP Jeff. We had some good times way back when! One of the best song/riff writers ever. Heavy Metal LEGEND! twitpic.com/cnoyog
— Jamey Jasta (@jameyjasta) May 2, 2013
RIP Jeff Hanneman …I don't even know what to SAY !!!!!! ….. I'm in shock.-DS-
— Dan Spitz (@danspitz) May 2, 2013
Testament:
R.I.P. Jeff Hanneman, brother in thrash.
— Testament (@testament) May 2, 2013
Dino Cazares (Fear Factory):
I'm extremely shocked and sad to hear about Jeff Hanneman. He was a huge influence on my playing when I was growing up.
— Dino Cazares (@DinoCazares) May 2, 2013
Gus G. (Ozzy, Firewind):
Gutted to read the news. RIP Jeff Hanneman :( the music world has lost yet another one of the greats
— Gus G. (@gusgofficial) May 2, 2013
In Flames:
We are so devasted to hear about the passing of Jeff Hanneman. One of the greatest have passed on and please,… fb.me/223dnN4vE
— In Flames OFFICIAL (@InFlames_SWE) May 2, 2013
Rob Caggiano (ex-Anthrax, Volbeat):
Wow… I just heard some really sad news .R.I.P. Jeff Hanneman
— Robert Caggiano (@RobCaggiano) May 2, 2013
Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater, Adrenaline Mob):
WOW….I'm in shock…RIP Jeff Hanneman….wow….
— Mike Portnoy (@MikePortnoy) May 2, 2013
David Draiman (Disturbed):
RIP TO A TITAN OF METAL;billboard.com/biz/articles/1…
— DAVID DRAIMAN (@DAVIDMDRAIMAN) May 2, 2013
Jucifer:
what?!jeff hanneman died :( :(really sad news.RIP to a great musician+ good guy to have a beer with. #neverforget
— JUCIFER (@_JUCIFER_) May 2, 2013
Tommy Victor (Prong):
R.I.P. Jeff Hanneman. One of the greatest metal guitar players and innovatorsof all time. And a really nice dude.
— Tommy Victor (Prong) (@prongmusic) May 2, 2013
Relapse Records:
R.I.P. Jeff Hanneman a true icon & inspiration.We'll be blasting Slayer all week in his honor
— Relapse Records (@RelapseRecords) May 2, 2013
3 Inches of Blood:
Totally shocked by Jeff Hanneman's death. Terrible loss for the metal community. Condolences to his family and Slayer.#RipJeffHannemam
— 3 Inches of Blood (@3iob) May 2, 2013
Pantera:
RIP Jeff Hanneman. Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at… fb.me/2zQFuwgDv
— Pantera (@Pantera) May 2, 2013
Rest in Peace Jeff Hanneman you will surely be missed.
— Suffocation (@suffocation) May 2, 2013
RIP to a dedicated Raiders fan RT @slayer: Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away…
— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) May 3, 2013
Breaking my Twitter vacation to express my sadness and sympathy to the friends, fans, and family of Slayer's Jeff Hanneman #legend
— Oderus Urungus (@TheRealOderus) May 3, 2013
This is how Jeff Hanneman & Slayer influenced Kataklysm.. we call it our "Slayer" song ..enjoy and raise your… fb.me/1LhmM5HVh
— Kataklysm (@kataklysmband) May 3, 2013
Jeff Hanneman RIP . A brilliant and influential guitarist- a great loss to the music world. \m/
— Bill Bailey (@BillBailey) May 3, 2013
Rest in peace Jeff Hanneman. Decade of aggression is the first cd I ever bought with my own money. Sad day.
— Pete Wentz(@petewentz) May 3, 2013
[Hat tip to MetalSucks]
