When we were Kings

The Beet Seeking Missile was saddened to hear of the passing of the great Slayer guitarist/songwriter Jeff Hanneman earlier today. The musician had been suffering from a terrible flesh-eating disease called Necrotizing Fasciitis that he contracted from a spider bite a couple of years ago while on tour in South America. He perished from liver failure related to the condition. Hanneman was 49 years old.

Born in Oakland, California, the young Hanneman was fascinated by his father's tales of World War II as well as his older brother's experiences in the Vietnam War. Much of this influenced his songwriting, which often portrayed the starkness of war and other dark aspects of the human condition. Additionally, he was raised by these men to become a huge Raiders fan. It was no great irony, when years later, the first full-length Slayer concert video was shot by NFL Films. 

He met guitarist Kerry King in 1981 and after forming Slayer together, the two quickly became the twin demons of thrash in a band that was the epitome of speed metal with a punk attitude. The band became a favorite of both punks and metalheads with their no holds barred approach, propelling them on a similar tangent with Metallica, to become the twin kings of the thrash ranks.

 Much of their music was characterized by big, fast, memorable riffs and Hanneman's chaotic phrasing, that always contained an element or two of beautiful, twisted melody. He was a fan favorite who went all out onstage every night, sporting Dead Kennedys stickers on his guitar and a Raiders jersey on his person.
Hanneman wrote or cowrote many of the band's most recognizable songs including "Angel of Death," "Seasons in the Abyss" and "Behind the crooked cross." Although his health had kept him off the road for the last couple of years, at the time of his death, he was reportedly working on new Slayer material.

The Beet Seeking Missile first saw Slayer on the Reign in Blood tour in 1986 at the El Dorado Saloon in Sacramento. That album, still the best 29 minutes of metal ever recorded, was played in it's entirety in front of the kind of fierce crowd that came to define the band's fan base for the next 25 years. I was completely blown away by the aggressive attack coming through the Marshall stacks and once made the mistake of wandering too close to King's stack-and still have a decent amount of ear damage to show for it.

I don't recall the final count of Slayer shows I've been to over the years but it's probably about fifteen. Every one of those shows became a great place to meet up with some of my dearest music following friends over the years. Slayer continues to inspire an unparalled tribal passion amongst the lovers of their music.

As a writer, my personal highlight occurred near the beginning of the Seasons in Abyss tour at the Henry J. Kaiser in Oakland. The band had just returned from Egypt, where they had shot the video for the title track and had ridden all night by bus to get to the venue after getting off a plane in L.A.

I encountered a drowsy looking Hanneman walking toward the dressing room and introduced myself . I asked him if I could have an interview. He said he wasn't really awake yet, but to hit him up after the show and he'd be glad to talk. At that, he sat down, cracked open a St.Pauli Girl and started a video game (Super Nintendo).

After an epic set, I waited backstage as the band entertained a huge entourage of well wishers and starstruck folks. When Hanneman had signed his share of autographs, he sought me out and we sat down for an interview where he was glad to answer any and all questions that I had for him. Very polite and professional and a hell of a nice fellow. It amazed me that this writer of so many dark classics was so affable in the way of The Dude from The Big Lebowski.

The last time I saw Slayer was at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium was a few years back and the band was still bringing it with the same fierceness as their early days. The bloodlust "Slay-er! Slay-er! Slay-er!" chants of their fans were filled the air with the same passion as the early days. I recalled how fighter pilots in the Gulf War had requested Slayer's "War Ensemble" to be blared on the runways of Kuwait before they took off on missions over Iraq.
 I had recently seen a great documentary about Muhammad Ali's 1974 "Rumble in the jungle" with George Foreman in Zaire called "When we were Kings." The locals despised Foreman because he had traveled to Zaire with a German Shepard. Little did he know, when he got off the plane with that dog, that the Dutch Imperialists who controlled the country had used that breed to viciously control unruly crowds who had the audacity to rise up against them. Thus the locals would chant "Ali boma ye, Ali boma ye" which translates to "Ali, kill him" as Ali went on training runs on the rural roads of the country.

Naturally, I had to try out a little "Slayer, boma ye!" on this rabid crowd of loyalists. It seemed to click. Fitting, since like Ali, the band remain kings to many of their fans all over the world.
Jeff Hanneman, you will be sorely missed.

Long Live Slayer! And Long Live the memory of the great Jeff Hanneman! Feel free to share your Slayer and Jeff Hanneman memories with The Beet Seeking Missile.

Chemical Warfare '85

 Seasons in the Abyss-The Video