I’m still in shock. Total and utter shock. Jeff Hanneman, the riff master and lyricist of pioneering thrash band Slayer, has passed away.
I want to share you with you a memory that sticks out in my mind. It was a day I was converted to love Slayer from the moment I saw them on stage.
It was Download Festival 2004. A special day as it was day after my 15th birthday, my birthday gift was Drowning Pool’s new album Desensitized. I remember as my family drove up there I constantly listened to that record over and over on my Walkman (remember those things?), and I knew Drowning Pool were playing on the side stage that day. I wanted to see them badly. We had gone on Sunday 6th June.
It was special for many reasons. It was our — my family’s — first download festival. There were some great bands playing that day: Breed 77, Turbonegro, Ill Nino, Soulfly, Damageplan, Slayer (due to a slot change), Machine Head, Slipknot (headlined next year’s, and then headlined again in 2009), Korn and Metallica headlining (where Lars got sick and Joey Jordison, Dave Lombardo and even Lars’ drum tech filled in on “Wherever I May Roam”).
I remember that day very clear in my mind. It was June. The sun was out and blazing in, with me trying to avoid it wherever possible…with no luck. Download Festival is a fantastic festival. That day I guess is even more special now because it was the first and last time I saw Damageplan who cranked out a rendition of “Walk” before heading off to leave Slayer destroy…as they do.
We must’ve gone somewhere between Soulfly, Damageplan and Slayer as I remember walking, walking somewhere, heading to the main stage. Walking past the side stage, hearing Drowning Pool and thinking: “I’ll take a gamble.” Funny is, I don’t actually regret doing that. I found a new band to love. I never looked back.
I never knew who Slayer really were. Never bought any of their albums. Never ventured to actually find out who they really were, you know. I remember watching them play, hearing “Angel of Death” and “Raining Blood”, thinking to myself: WHO THE *** ARE SLAYER!?
Download Festival ended and we went home, vowing to come back next year. And we did.
I went home and then proceed to quickly educate myself on all things Slayer. This promptly converted me. And now I own 9 of their albums.
Thank you Jeff, for amazing riffs that inspired many, and you will missed greatly. But you will not, and never, be forgotten.
