Jeff Hanneman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jeff Hanneman | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Background information | ||
| Born | January 31, 1964 Oakland, California, USA |
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| Origin | Los Angeles, California | |
| Genre(s) | Thrash metal | |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar | |
| Years active | 1981 – present | |
| Label(s) | American | |
| Associated acts |
Slayer | |
| Notable instrument(s) | ||
| ESP Jeff Hanneman Signature model | ||
Jeff Hanneman (born January 31, 1964, in Oakland, California) is the guitarist and founding member of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman grew up in Los Angeles in a family of war veterans, leading to his fascination with warfare.
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[edit] Biography
Hanneman was born in 1964 and grew up in Oakland, California. Hanneman's family had several war veterans; his father fought in Normandy during World War II and his brothers in Vietnam, often talking about their experiences at dinner. At the time, war movies were commonly shown on TV, and Hanneman would join his brothers in constructing and coloring tank and plane models, which ultimately led to his interest in warfare and history.[1]
In 1981, Kerry King was auditioning for a position as guitarist in a band. After the try-out session, Hanneman approached King and started talking. The two picked up their guitars and began playing Iron Maiden and Judas Priest songs - King mentioned "Why don't we start our OWN band?", Hanneman replied "...Fuck yeah!".[1] In 1984, Hanneman, Dave Lombardo and Suicidal Tendencies's guitarist Rocky George had a brief punk side project called "Pap Smear". The band was about to enter the recording studio until Hanneman received a call from Slayer's producer, Rick Rubin, stating "Ahhhh, don’t do it, man — this is the kind of thing that breaks bands up!"[1] Hanneman took Rubin's advice, later using two of the songs on Slayer's 1996 album Undisputed Attitude.[1]
Hanneman married Kathryn in 1997,[2] whom he met in the early 1980s. The two live in Los Angeles with no children, forty minutes away from King, and often have BBQ's, watch hockey and have a beer.[1] While Slayer are on tour, Kathryn stays home; as Hanneman states, when he comes home she's "all brand new again". Kathryn has toured with the band twice in twenty years.[2]
Hanneman and Slayer vocalist Tom Araya were once a heavy cocaine and pill abusers.[2] The two decided to quit one day, realizing "this can lead to only death or something, this is going too far"; now Araya only smokes marijuana and Hanneman drinks beer.[2] Hanneman's favorite is Heineken lager and can be seen with the drink backstage and in publicity photos.[3] During The Unholy Alliance Chapter II tour, Hanneman could be seen playing a guitar with a Heineken logo as a custom finish.[4]
[edit] Interest in Nazi History
Hanneman is interested in Nazi war medals and Nazi Germany, the subject to much of the lyrics he writes. People have taken this to be evidence that Hanneman, as well as the rest of Slayer, are Nazi sympathizers.[3] Hanneman's interest in the Nazi's began when his father offered him a medal he had taken from a dead Nazi soldier.[5] Hanneman's father later gave more medals to Hanneman; "You want these? I'm gonna throw 'em out if you don't."[5] his most prized medal is the Knight’s Cross, for which he paid $1000 to a Slayer fan.[5] While touring with Motörhead, Hanneman found out about Motörhead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister's interest in medals. The two discussed medal designs, weapons and tactics used by the Nazis.[1]
Hanneman wrote the lyrics for the song "Angel of Death", leading to Slayer being accused of Nazi sympathizing.[3] The track details the acts conducted by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.[6] "People often interpret the lyrics", states Hanneman, "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."[1] The band have stated numerous times that they do not condone Nazism and are merely interested in the subject.[7]
[edit] Style and influences
Hanneman's interest in music derived from punk rock music, which led to Slayer's 1996 album Undisputed Attitude. He cites Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin, Exploited, Verbal Abuse, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys and T.S.O.L as influential bands.[1] Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Michael Schenker from the Scorpions influenced his style of play.[5] Yngwie uses the advanced style of play called shredding, which involves tapping and tremolo picking.[1]
Hanneman’s and King’s dual guitar solos have been called "wildly chaotic",[8] and "twisted genius".[9] Early albums, such as Hell Awaits and Reign in Blood, featured a "wailing style" and "demented soloing often mimicking the screams of the songs victims".[8][10] South of Heaven featured "more technical" guitar riffs, utilizing aforementioned tremolo picking and down-picked notes improving musicianship, while retaining a melodic sense.[11] Both Hanneman and King were ranked #10 on Guitar Worlds "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time".[12]
[edit] Lyrics and music
Hanneman wrote the music and lyrics for the songs "South of Heaven", "War Ensemble", "Raining Blood" and "Seasons in the Abyss", all becoming live staples at Slayer shows. Hanneman's favorite album is Reign in Blood, and enjoys performing the songs "Raining Blood" and "Angel of Death".[1] Hanneman has contributed lyrical material and music to every Slayer album, forming a music and lyric writing partnership with Araya, which can overshadow the creative input of King.[3]
When writing new material, the band writes the music before the lyrics.[1] Hanneman comes up with riffs at his house, using a 24-track and drum machine. Hanneman will show band members the riff, to see what they think; King and Lombardo will often mention if any alterations can be made. The band will play the riff to get the basic song structure, and then figure out where the lyrics and solos go.[1] Hanneman states 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."[1]
[edit] Equipment
Hanneman uses Marshall JCM-800 Amps, Boss 10 band rack EQ, EMG Pick-ups, Jackson Custom Shop Soloist with 2 EMG Pickups, D'Addario .009-.042 Strings, Shure Wireless System, Eventide H3000S Harmonizer, Dunlop Crybaby Wah-Wah Pedals, Monster Cable, Kahler bridges, and his own signature guitar the ESP Jeff Hanneman Signature model.[13] While touring Hanneman brings six guitars, due to different tunings required. Early albums such as Reign in Blood have e-flat tuning, while later albums such as God Hates Us All feature dropped tunings. Extra guitars are also brought in, in case a string snaps or the guitar sustains damage.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Davis, Brian. Knac.com interview with Jeff Hanneman. Knac.com. Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Rock N Roll Experience interview with Jeff Hanneman. Slayersaves.com. Retrieved on January 9, 2006.
- ^ a b c d An exclusive oral history of Slayer. Decibel Magazine. Retrieved on December 3, 2006.
- ^ SLAYER: le foto esclusive dell'Unholy Alliance a Milano. Musica Metal (2006-09-20). Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
- ^ a b c d Lahtinen, Luxi (2006-12-18). SLAYER - Jeff Hanneman. Metal-rules.com. Retrieved on December 27, 2006.
- ^ moreorless : heroes & killers of the 20th century - Josef Mengele. Moreorless.com (2001-04-30). Retrieved on December 1, 2006.
- ^ Cummins , Johnson. Slayers Tom Araya on Satanism, serial killers and his lovable kids. MontrealMirror.com. Retrieved on December 2, 2006.
- ^ a b Huey, Steve. Reign in Blood. All Music Guide. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
- ^ Horatio. Slayer - Reign In Blood. Kickedintheface.com. Retrieved on January 18, 2006.
- ^ Reign In Blood CD. CDuniverse.com. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
- ^ Slayer - South Of Heaven. Metal-Observer.com. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
- ^ GUITAR WORLD's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists Of All Time. Blabbermouth.net (2004-01-23). Retrieved on January 18, 2006.
- ^ Jeff Hanneman. Slayersaves.com. Retrieved on January 9, 2006.
| Slayer |
| Tom Araya | Jeff Hanneman | Kerry King | Dave Lombardo |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums and extended plays: Show No Mercy | Haunting the Chapel | Hell Awaits | Reign in Blood | South of Heaven | Seasons in the Abyss | Divine Intervention | Undisputed Attitude | Diabolus in Musica | God Hates Us All | Eternal Pyre | Christ Illusion |
| Live albums: Live Undead | Decade of Aggression |
| Compilations: Soundtrack to the Apocalypse |
| Videos and DVDs |
| Live Intrusion | War at the Warfield | Still Reigning |
| Songs |
| "Angel of Death" | "Raining Blood" | "Eyes of the Insane" | "Jihad" |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Hanneman, Jeff |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jeffery |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Guitarist in the thrash metal band Slayer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 31, 1964 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oakland, California |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
