Jeff Hanneman

Jeff Hanneman
Jeff Hanneman of Slayer performing at Sonisphere Knebworth, August 2010
Background information
Birth name	Jeffrey John Hanneman
Born	January 31, 1964 (1964-01-31) Oakland, California, USA
Genres	Thrash metal, speed metal,
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1981–present
Labels	American
Associated acts	Slayer
Notable instruments
ESP Jeff Hanneman Signature model Jackson Soloist BC Rich guitars Gibson Les Paul

Jeffrey John "Jeff" Hanneman (born January 31, 1964) is a rhythm/lead guitarist and founding member of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman grew up in Los Angeles in a family of war veterans, and his fascination with warfare is attributed to his upbringing. His interest in the subject of war pertains to much of his lyrical material including the song "Angel of Death".

Influenced by punk music growing up, Hanneman stated that the genre influenced Slayer's sound to create a faster and more aggressive approach. His links to punk are also evident through his placement of a "DK" symbol from the California punk band the Dead Kennedys on at least one of his guitars. Hanneman has contributed both lyrical and musical material to every Slayer album and wrote the songs "Raining Blood", "War Ensemble" "South of Heaven" "Seasons in the Abyss" and "Angel of Death", which are played at almost every live Slayer show. He has his own signature guitar, the ESP Jeff Hanneman Signature model.

Biography

Hanneman was born January 31, 1964 in Oakland, California and grew up in Long Beach, California, in a family containing several war veterans: his father fought in Normandy during World War II and his brothers in Vietnam; so warfare was a common conversation topic at the dinner table. War films were popular on TV at the time, and Hanneman often joined his brothers in constructing and coloring tank and plane models. His interest in warfare and military history is attributed to his upbringing. In a 2009 interview with Decibel Magazine, he states his father is German, but fought for the ally side of World War Two. In the same interview, he also goes into detail of what district of Germany his father and grandparents hail from. His grandfather was fluent in German.

Hanneman approached Kerry King in 1981, when King was auditioning for a band. After the try-out session, the two guitarists started talking and playing Iron Maiden and Judas Priest songs. Slayer was born when Hanneman asked "Why don't we start our own band?", to which King replied "...Fuck yeah!". In 1982, Hanneman, Dave Lombardo and Suicidal Tendencies's guitarist Rocky George had a brief punk side project called "Pap Smear" - the band was due to start recording when Hanneman was advised to avoid the side project by Slayer's producer, Rick Rubin, who is quoted as saying "Ahhhh, don’t do it, man — this is the kind of thing that breaks bands up!" Hanneman took Rubin's advice, and later used two of the songs on Slayer's 1996 album Undisputed Attitude.

In 1997 Hanneman married Kathryn , whom he had met in the early 1980s. The couple have no children and live in Los Angeles, forty minutes away from King. Kathryn stays at home when Slayer tours; Hanneman claims to prefer this, saying that when he comes home, she is "all brand new again". Kathryn has toured with the band twice in twenty years.

Hanneman and Slayer vocalist/bassist Tom Araya are reformed cocaine and pill abusers. They decided to quit when they realised "this can lead to only death or something, this is going too far". Hanneman is a long-time fan of the Oakland Raiders.

In early 2011, Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis. According to the band, doctors say that it likely originated from a spider bite. In the light of this situation and Slayer's upcoming participation in the Australian Soundwave Festival tour that was set to kick off on February 26, the band made the tough decision to play the dates without Hanneman, and on February 16, 2011 brought on Gary Holt (guitarist of the band Exodus) to fill in for him until he has fully recuperated and is ready to return to the lineup. Pat O'Brien will act as Slayer's second guitarist when Holt leaves the tour to play with Exodus at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile on April 10, 2011. On April 1, 2011 metalunderground posted an April Fools' Day joke that Jeff Hanneman would be leaving Slayer permanently, citing health concerns and set backs in his recovery.

Interest in National Socialist History

The Knight's Cross

Hanneman's interest in German war medals and Nazi Germany is illustrated by many of his lyrics. Those interests in the National Socialists began with medals given to him by his father, including some taken from a dead German soldier. His most prized medal is his Knight's Cross, which he bought from a Slayer fan for $1000. While touring with Motörhead, Hanneman discovered Motörhead vocalist Lemmy's interest in medals, and the two discussed medal designs, weapons and tactics used by the Wehrmacht.

Hanneman's lyrics for the song "Angel of Death" led to accusations of Slayer being Nazi sympathizers. Hanneman has defended himself with "nothing I put in the lyrics that says necessarily he was a bad man, because to me - well, isn't that obvious? I shouldn't have to tell you that." The band have stated numerous times that they do not condone Nazism and are merely interested in the subject.

Style and influences

Hanneman's musical influences include early heavy metal and punk rock, which led to Slayer's 1996 album Undisputed Attitude. Hanneman's and King's dual guitar solos have been called "wildly chaotic", and "twisted genius". Early albums, such as Hell Awaits and Reign in Blood, featured a "wailing style" and "demented soloing often mimicking the screams of the song's victims". South of Heaven featured "more technical" guitar riffs, utilizing the aforementioned tremolo picking and down-picked notes, improving musicianship while retaining a melodic sense. Both Hanneman and King were ranked #10 on Guitar Worlds "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time".

Lyrics and music

Hanneman wrote the music for most of the band's fan favorites, songs such as "South of Heaven", "War Ensemble", "Raining Blood", "Angel of Death", "Mandatory Suicide", and "Seasons in the Abyss", which have all become staples for live performance at Slayer shows. Hanneman's favorite album is Reign in Blood, and he enjoys performing the songs "Raining Blood" and "Angel of Death." He has contributed lyrics and music to every Slayer album, forming a music and lyric writing partnership with Araya, which sometimes overshadows King's creative input.

When writing new material, the band writes the music before the lyrics. Hanneman often composes riffs at his house, using a 24-track and a drum machine and then gathers opinions from the other band members; King and Lombardo make suggestions of alterations. The band will play the riff to get the basic song structure, and then figure out where the lyrics and solos go. Hanneman has stated that writing lyrics and music is a "free for all"; "It's all just whoever comes up with what. Sometimes I’ll be more on a roll and I’ll have more stuff, same with Kerry — it's whoever's hot, really. Anybody can write anything; if it's good we use it, if not we don’t."

Equipment

In Slayer's early days, Hanneman used a black Gibson Les Paul during the Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits era. In 1986 he began playing B.C. Rich, notably a Rich Bich model with various graphics on it. By the end of the 80's he was seen using a BC Rich Assassin. In 1990 he began playing the famous Jackson Soloist that he would use constantly over the next decade. Around 2000/2001 Jeff switched to ESP guitars and had his own signature model made, based on his Jackson Soloist. When touring, Hanneman carries six guitars due to the different tunings required. Most albums such as Haunting the Chapel - Divine Intervention and World Painted Blood have E-flat tuning. However, albums such as Diabolus in Musica - Christ Illusion feature alternate tunings and the first album Show No Mercy was recorded in standard tuning, while live performances of the respective songs are being played in E-flat since about 1984. Extra guitars are also brought in case a string snaps or a guitar sustains damage.

Jeff Hanneman's 3 x 6 stack of Marshall ModeFour dummy guitar cabinets on stage at the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival in 2008.

Guitars

• ESP Jeff Hanneman Signature model.
• Jackson Custom Shop Soloist with 2 EMG Pickups
• EMG 81/85 Pick-ups with EMG SPC Mid-Boost circuit
• Kahler bridges
• D'Addario .009-.042 Strings

Effects

• Shure Wireless System,
• Dunlop Crybaby From Hell Wah-Wah Pedal
• Eventide H3000S Harmonizer
• MXR Super Comp
• MXR Smart Gate
• BOSS RGE-10 (10 band EQ)
• Monster cable

Amplification

• Marshall JCM-800 amplifiers
• Marshall ModeFour Speaker Cabinets (Either 280 or 400 Watt Models)

Beverage

• Heineken Pilsener endorsement

Discography

For a more comprehensive list, see Slayer discography.

• 1983: Show No Mercy
• 1984: Haunting the Chapel
• 1985: Hell Awaits
• 1986: Reign in Blood

• 1988: South of Heaven
• 1990: Seasons in the Abyss
• 1994: Divine Intervention
• 1996: Undisputed Attitude

• 1998: Diabolus in Musica
• 2001: God Hates Us All
• 2006: Christ Illusion
• 2009: World Painted Blood