Reign in Peace... Jeff Hanneman

The heavy metal community has lost one of its most important guitar players. Jeff Hanneman, founding member of Slayer, passed away yesterday at the age of 49. While the music he helped create may not appeal to all, or even most, listening tastes, his impact as a composer, lyricist, guitarist and especially as a progenitor of the thrash metal genre, is undisputed.

Jeff Hanneman formed Slayer in 1981 with fellow guitarist Kerry King. The band exploded on the music scene at the end of 1983, a year which saw huge leaps in popularity of heavy metal overall, with the release of their debut, Show No Mercy. Slayer, along with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth, collectively known as The Big 4, broke ranks from the popularly accepted sound of heavy metal, infusing it with first generation punk rock ferocity, songs played at break neck speed, themes centering around death and a veritable mission to redefine "heavy", to create Thrash Metal; arguably the first, true metal sub-genre.

The diabolical playing styles of Hanneman and King were born out of the dual guitar sounds of Slayer influencers Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, but with the sonic assault factor ratcheted up by an order of magnitude. Upon first listen to songs including the Hanneman-penned "Die By The Sword" in the winter of '83, there was no denying Slayer was rewriting the rules of loud music, with utter disregard for what anyone beyond their instantly dedicated fan base had to say about it.



Jeff Hanneman would go on to write many of Slayer's signature songs, including "War Ensemble", "South of Heaven", "Seasons in the Abyss" and "Raining Blood". Hanneman was sidelined in 2011 after contracting necrotizing fasciitis resulting from a spider bite. He had been away from the band during most of the time since, undergoing skin grafts and rehabilitation to his injured arm, when he passed away from liver failure.

Some may say it is too soon to speculate on the future of Slayer, which has continued touring in Hanneman's absence, but it is not hard to imagine that the band he created will not die with him. Indeed, there will likely be some even more raucous mosh pits formed in his honor, the next time the band launches into one of Jeff's songs.

Rest in peace... Jeff Hanneman...




Photo credit: Jeff Hanneman with Slayer at The Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, August 8th, 2009, Hartford, CT. Photo by Victoria Morse, used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.