Thrash legends Slayer have recently issued an announcement concerning a public memorial service for their fallen brother Jeff Hanneman who passed away earlier this month from liver failure. The update, which was posted on the Slayer Facebook page, reads as follows:
The Jeff Hanneman Memorial Celebration will take place on Thursday, May 23 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles from 3:30 – 7:30PM. Hanneman passed away on May 2 at the age of 49.
The Memorial Celebration will be free and open to the public on a first-come, first-in basis (subject to venue capacity). All ages are welcome, and paid parking will be available around the venue.
Jeff Hanneman helped shape Slayer’s uncompromising thrash-metal sound as well as an entire genre of music. His riffs of fury and punk-rock attitude were heard in the songs he wrote, including Slayer classics “Angel of Death,” “Raining Blood,” “South of Heaven” and “War Ensemble.” Hanneman co-founded Slayer with fellow-guitarist Kerry King, bassist Tom Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo in Huntington Park, CA in 1981. For more than 30 years, Hanneman was the band member who stayed out of the spotlight, rarely did interviews, amassed an impressive collection of World War II memorabilia, was with his wife Kathy for nearly three decades, shut off his phone and went incommunicado when he was home from tour, did not want to be on the road too late into any December as Christmas was his favorite holiday, and, from the time he was about 12 years old, woke up every, single day with one thing on his mind: playing the guitar.
It was once suggested to Slayer that if they would write “just one mainstream song that could get on the radio,” they would likely sell millions of records and change the commercial course of their career, similar to what had happened to Metallica with 1993’s “Enter Sandman.” Jeff was the first to draw a line of integrity in the sand, replying, “We’re going to make a Slayer record. If you can get it on the radio, fine, if not, then fuck it.”
We’re sure that there will be an awful lot of people who may wish to attend this service so we advise you to get there early, and treat your fellow metal heads and mourners with the utmost respect on a day, that whilst sad, should be a celebration of the life of a fantastic metal musician as well as a friend, brother, husband and family man.
Slayer recently confirmed (also via their Facebook page) that they would honour their touring commitments this Summer including their headline appearance at the UK’s Bloodstock Open Air Festival. Gary Holt from Exodus will continue to act as Slayer’s live guitarist as he has been doing so for the majority of the last two years while Jeff Hanneman was off the road battling his health issues.
