Mr. Hanneman was one of the most talented guitarists of his era and within his genre, as well as a gifted songwriter. He was a monster riffer, responsible for what many consider the greatest metal (and certainly the greatest thrash) song of all time, Angel of Death.
To me, Slayer has always been the single greatest band on the planet. Like Bolt Thrower, they’ve changed little over the past 30 years beyond honing their craft and perfecting their art. Jeff Hanneman was integral to the sound and style that the band chose, and I know that his bandmates, both present and former, have to be crushed by this news.
If Kerry King and Tom Araya (and maybe even Dave Lombardo) choose to write new material for a new Slayer album, I imagine it will be such angry music that the Universe will simply become full to capacity for anger such that any other anger looks like a Carebear circle jerk Howdy Doody fuckin’ koombayah feel-good sing-along.
This news is getting featured on NPR half-hour updates, including playing a clip of Reign in Blood and discussing Hanneman’s punk influences and Slayer’s importance in the evolution of metal.
Whilst you might have a point about some of the lyrics (although every now and then some comedy satanism can be fun), the music is pretty complex and interesting, and Jeff’s guitar playing was a big part of that, and an influence on a great deal of extreme metal bands that followed.
