Jeff Haneman, the guitarist of Slayer, recently died. He died of some long term problems, most of
which are resultant from alcoholism and being bitten and getting nerosis from a
spider, which is pretty much as heavy metal as deaths go. He was, along with Lombardo the (on-again, off-again) drummer, the most talented, least publicity seeking of the group. If you need proof, look at the ridiculous, less talented Kerry King sometime. While the others dressed like some stereotypical leather gimps, he tended to just wear comfortable clothes and shred the shit out of any song he played. He was proof that metal is more of an attitude than an aesthetic thing.
The news didn't affect me as it might have, when I was about 16 or 17, and Slayer were favourites, much to the chagrin of my Skinny Puppy fan then girlfriend. I still think that Reign in Blood is an excellent album, but I've gone off Slayer for a number of reasons: i) Diabolus in Musicaa a nu-metal tinged abomination, which came out at just the wrong time for me ii) in interviews, particularly Araya talking endlessly about his kids and voting Republican, in a weird, high-pitched voice iii) Kerry King's 'God Bless you' made quite genuinely at the end of a concert where they'd just sung about how useless the Church was, and iv) discovering that at least two of them are practicing Catholics, which suggests that albums like 'God Hates Us All' are nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt. Anyway, I appreciate their talent, but don't listen to them anymore, that's not the point though...
When the news of his death broke, it made it to various online posts, including the BBC, the Guardian, and a host of others. Underneath the news, 'where the internet happens' (Trademark) various people posted, expressing sadness, dismay, or merely promising to rock out Slayer-style in Hanneman's honour. Fair enough. Others however, were more puzzling: particularly the type of person who posts nothing more than 'RIP Jeff.' Nothing more. Pages and pages of this, which is a bizarre impulse. I don't know why, it's not like he's going to see it (although some of the band believe that he will). I don't really know what my point is, but I suppose I've never noticed people saying 'RIP [insert name]' on message boards before, and I couldn't really imagine anyone else who it be less apt to write it for anyway. RIP Jeff.
The news didn't affect me as it might have, when I was about 16 or 17, and Slayer were favourites, much to the chagrin of my Skinny Puppy fan then girlfriend. I still think that Reign in Blood is an excellent album, but I've gone off Slayer for a number of reasons: i) Diabolus in Musicaa a nu-metal tinged abomination, which came out at just the wrong time for me ii) in interviews, particularly Araya talking endlessly about his kids and voting Republican, in a weird, high-pitched voice iii) Kerry King's 'God Bless you' made quite genuinely at the end of a concert where they'd just sung about how useless the Church was, and iv) discovering that at least two of them are practicing Catholics, which suggests that albums like 'God Hates Us All' are nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt. Anyway, I appreciate their talent, but don't listen to them anymore, that's not the point though...
When the news of his death broke, it made it to various online posts, including the BBC, the Guardian, and a host of others. Underneath the news, 'where the internet happens' (Trademark) various people posted, expressing sadness, dismay, or merely promising to rock out Slayer-style in Hanneman's honour. Fair enough. Others however, were more puzzling: particularly the type of person who posts nothing more than 'RIP Jeff.' Nothing more. Pages and pages of this, which is a bizarre impulse. I don't know why, it's not like he's going to see it (although some of the band believe that he will). I don't really know what my point is, but I suppose I've never noticed people saying 'RIP [insert name]' on message boards before, and I couldn't really imagine anyone else who it be less apt to write it for anyway. RIP Jeff.
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