RIP Jeff Hanneman of Slayer

 

Last night, while at my favorite bar in the world, Duff's Brooklyn, I read on Facebook that Jeff Hanneman, a founding member of one of thrash metal's big four Slayer, passed away, at age 49! I was shocked and saddened deeply, to say the least. We of course wasted no time in playing some Slayer at the bar. We had, too. And, I have been listening to their music, almost all day, today, as well.

He died of liver failure due to flesh-eating bacteria. This is rumored, but not confirmed, to have come from a spider bite he got years ago. That ended up causing him an arm infection. It was ultimately dealt with, but it is possible that this liver disease was some underlying result.

Regardless, of the cause, it's a tragic and sad death, and to be taken so young, too. He was an exceptional guitarist, one of the greatest ever, I and many would say. I got into Slayer as a sophomore in high school, with what remains my favorite album of theirs: Seasons in the Abyss. That was one of those albums that changed my life. It would push me to look for darker and more evil bands, but none could or can touch the mighty Slayer. They, along with the other Big Four (Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax) remain my four favorite bands, ever.

I met them in 1994, a week before Divine Intervention came out at Sam Goody in NYC. I only really talked to singer and bass player Tom Araya, but they were all cool, to their fans. 

You can see Jeff, in the middle, face covered by his long blonde hair. You can spot me as the guy with Metallica hat and Megadeth backpatch with a Jansport schoolbag.

Jeff will always be remembered. I hope all of my fellow metalheads are blasting Slayer, as we speak. May he RIP.

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The Big Four- Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria (blu-ray)

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The Big Four

Last night in Chelsea I had the chance to see The Big Four (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax) on the big screen from a concert shot in Sofia, Bulgaria. I won't mince any words here, this is my dream tour, as these are my four all time favorite bands. And, I have to say that just seeing in the theatres, blew me the fuck away!

The first band to play was Anthrax. They opened with the blistering classic Caught in a Mosh. It's great to see Joey Belladonna back. He is a fun and awesome front-man. As a whole, Anthrax were definitely the fun/ party band of the bunch. They kept the audience going, and I love the way that Joey interacts with them. They even threw in a cover of the Dio era Black Sabbath classic Heaven and Hell to the mix. That fucking ruled in my book! It was a great cover! Hope they release this somehow in the future.

Next up was my personal fav of the batch, Megadeth. They were the most jaw-dropping as from a technical aspect, there are just no words to describe their talent or do them justice. If anyone asks why they are my fav band, they need to watch this, I think it makes it all clear! They opened with one of my personal favorite songs Holy Wars and just tore shit up! Mustaine is a guitar god! All fucking hail!

Next up was the most brutal performance of the night, SLAYER!!! Even the movie theater, people were standing, as they got ready to hear these lords of thrash metal. In fact, some of them even got to playing air guitar in the aisles, which continued into the Metallica set! They opened up with the modern classic that is World Painted Blood. They didn't miss a beat and the combo of King and Hanneman on dual lead guitars never fails to impress. And, Dave Lombardo remains one of the greatest drummers in all of metal. A fucking killer, Earth shaking, head ripping performance all the fucking way!

The bands dedicated this concert movie/ performance to Ronnie James Dio. And, Kerry King, Lars Ulrich, Scott Ian, and Dave Mustaine, all told great stories about him. An awesome segment and move that got me smiling and pleased all those watching.

Then the mega-stars took the stage, the mighty Metallica!!!!!!!!!!!!! They opened with my absolute all time favorite song, ever, in the form of Creeping Death!!!!!! And, even in the theater, itself, the fans chanted the infamous, "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" chant. It was fucking killer! They played classics from the albums of theirs that matter (IE: the first five albums and Death Magnetic). The movie audience was so into it, that two even pulled out lighters during And Nothing Else Matters! Thank God, that they played nothing from the Bob Suck (er, I mean Rock) era of shit albums (Load, Re-Load, and St. Anger). Fuck him. I hope he never produces another album in his whole entire life! Anyways, they fucking killed and this went a long way in making Metallica cool again and reaffirming their place in metal/ thrash. Their cred is back, motherfuckers! So awesome was it that they bought the other three bands, for a blistering version of Am I Evil?

I must say that it was very surreal to see Mustiane hug Lars but also cool! I'm glad that the feud is over between them, cause we got this! Metallica then closed off with two classics (Hit the Lights and Seek and Destroy) off of Kill 'Em All.

This was just amazing! And, I am still pumped because of it! Can't wait till this hits DVD. The US NEEDS this tour! If you are a true metal fan, I know you feel the same. If that is the case, then you need to join this on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/WE-WANT-AN-AMERICAN-BIG-4-STADIUM-TOUR-IN-SUMMER-2011/123843190990099?ref=mf) and make them see that you agree.

ALL HAIL THE BIG FOUR OF THRASH METAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Now playing: Megadeth - Wake Up Dead
via FoxyTunes

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The 10 Best Metal Albums of 2009

As far as metal/ hard rock music goes 2009 was another great year. Particularly for heavier music, as thrash, death, and black metal bands put out some of the best and heaviest music my ears had the pleasure of hearing. It was a truly awesome year to bang your fucking head, get in the pit, and kick some fucking ass. As always, this is not an easy list to make, whittling down so many great albums to these ten is hard work. But, I do hope it makes you get the albums on the list you don't already own. Or, at the very least, makes for some great discussion.

10. Otep- Smash the Control Machine-- Smart lyrics and a great mix of the heavy and the melodic makes this album from one of metal's most original and exciting acts a must hear. The lovely Otep Shamaya is easily one of metal's most charismatic and intelligent signers (male or female). And, this album continues the perfection of the sound that they started with Ascension. Extra points for having one of the most artistic looking covers of the year.

9. Kreator- Hordes of Chaos- - It's always great to see one of the old school bands still able to pull out a classic. That fact that is band as awesome as Kreator is even better. And, even even more so is when this album tops their last one, Enemy of God, which was an amazing album. In fact, this is their best album since Coma of Souls, and ranks, in my humble opinion, as the third best album the band has ever done. The lyrics are fucking cool and great to sing along to and the musicianship is phenomenal.

8. Killswitch Engage- Killswitch Engage- KSE continue to evolve their melodic metalcore. But, they never leave the heaviness behind. The music always feels and sounds like something to get the mosh pit going. Howard Jones remains one of the best signers of the current crop of metal masters. And, the drumming and guitar work never fail to give that great grove that makes KSE one of my favorite bands. This self titled album continues all of that to perfection.

7. Shadows Fall- Retribution- - Continuing the thrash inspired, no metalcore sound they started with thier last one, Threads of Life; Shadows Fall have, I think perfected itd with this one. The twin guitar riffs and in your face heaviness makes for a very pleasing sound that manages to mix the old school with a more modern and fresh take. This album features some of the year's most pleasing and ass kicking tracks.

6. Lamb of God- Wrath- - One of the masters, if not THE masters of the so-called New Wave of American Heavy Metal, LoG manage to mix the impressive musicianship (those riffs! the double base!) into some of the heaviest and groove filled music you will ever wanna mosh to. Songs like Choke Sermon and In Your Words will give your neck whiplash.

5. Warbringer- Waking into Nightmares- - So many bands try to bring the 80s thrash metal style back, but none of them are as successful as these young guys. After making the most impressive debut(last year, at that!), that I had heard in ages; they make an even more impressive second album! America's answer to Kreator have managed to put out an album so blisteringly good that they manage to top a great album from Kreator, themselves, released the same year! And, that brothers and sisters in metal might be THE accomplishment of the year.

4. Chthonic- Mirror of Retribution- - The absolute best black metal album of the year, did not come from Europe, but from Taiwan, as Chthonic hit us with their beat album, so far, in their careers. While, melodic sounds are definitely present the band also sets out to makes some of the heaviest music the sub-genre has ever had and succeed immensely at that. Freddy has become one of my favorite voices in current extreme metal. The band gets a lot of attention from the press thanks to their beautiful bassist Doris Yeh, the most gorgeous woman in music and number 43 in my list of The Hottest Babes of 2009. But, it is great that the band got much deserved critical acclaim thanks to this dark and amazing piece of metallic work. The track Venom in My Veins might the most fucking awesome, kick you in your fucking teeth song of 2009.

3. Megadeth- Endgame- - While, I have enjoyed last few Megadeth albums, I never thought they reached the level greatness of their older work. Returning to a full blown thrash metal sound, Megadeth craft their absolute best work since their godly masterpiece Rust in Peace. As always, the guitar work is phenomenal and drummer Shawn Drover is the best they have had since Nick Menza. Many of the songs on here only get better with each listening, with the album closing off with two of the best songs that they have written in a very long time.

2. Slayer- World Painted Blood- - Much like Megadeth made their best in years, so did the mighty Slayer. Bringing back Lombardo has reinvigorated them giving them their best and tightest sound. It began with Christ Illusion, but it is perfected with this one. The lyrics are as awesome as ever, the musicianship as sharp as ever, and the music is dark and heavy with the right amount of melody. In fact this is undoubtedly their best work since the classic Seasons in the Abyss. World Painted Blood might just be the best fucking single of the year. With Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer hitting some of their finest work, one wonders if Anthrax is next to do so...

1. Dethklok- The Dethalbum- - Yes, dear readers THE best album of the year is from a band, that is not really band. But, yet features amazing musicians in their midst, including drumming god Gene (Dark Angel, Death) Hoglan. The lyrics are fun, violent, and over-the-top as they deal with cyborgs, pulling life support, laser death, and basically anything and everything dealing with dying in bloody and nasty ways. A couple of songs are some of fucking best songs released in the entire year. In fact this not just the best album of the year, but one of the finest death metal albums of the past decade.

Some honorable mentions:

Five Finger Death Punch- War is the Answer
Suffocation- Blood Oath
Atreyu- Congregation of the Damned
Behemoth- Evangelion

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Now playing: Dethklok - Comet Song
via FoxyTunes

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The Top 10 Thrash Metal bands Ever

Like I said over on my myspace, thrash metal is my absolute fav type of metal. So, here then is my comprehensive list of the Top Ten thrash Metal bands of all Time:

1. When, Dave Mustaine was fired from Metallica it was the best thing that could happen to metal. Because, Megadeth is not just the best thrash metal band, ever, but my personal fav band in the whole world. Mustaine is one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever seen. And, Megadeth have made some many classic albums and songs; as well being one of the most technically sounding bands, ever. Plus, they have some of the coolest covers, ever! Their best album remains Rust in Peace, a technically ferocious godlike work that leaves your jaw dropping and your headbanging away till it falls off.
2. They sign about Satan, hell, the occult, evil, Nazis, war, atrocities, death, murder, serial killers, horror, and other unsavory subject matter, with amazing power and viciousness. Their mosh pits are legendary in their brutality. Their music controversial, but loved by both fans and critics. No list of great metal bands would be complete without them. Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman play the twins guitars with amazing speed and quality. While, Lomabardo is one of the finest drummers, ever, in any genre. Many will swear by Reign in Blood, but I prefer Season in the Abyss. Why? Because that is one of the albums that truly changed my life. Slayer has amongst the most ardent fan following anywhere, and rightfully so.
3. Listening to filth like St. Anger, Load, and Reload, it is many times hard to believe that, in the first four Metallica albums lie four of the greatest thrash metal albums ever. Kirk Hammet has said that Metallica invented thrash metal. While, this is debatable, what is not debatable is the magnificence of their early work. One of the first thrash metal bands to not be afraid to slow things down in masterpieces like Fade to Black and yet play blistering music like Creeping Death, Damage Inc, The Four Horsemen, etc, Metallica were metal gods. Master of Puppets remains their best work, as well as the best metal album, ever, thrash or otherwise.
4. Mixing heaviness without right fun Anthrax rounds the big four of thrash metal, with the aforementioned three other bands. Yeah, they were one of the first bands to bring rap to metal, and their work with John Bush had a different feel that the Joey era stuff. But, the real point is that when it came down to it they made some killer music. And, they help bring moshing to metal. So, now you did not just bang your head, but you thrash around and got busted up. Fuck yeah! I actually prefer John Bush signing and Sound of White Noise is one of my fav albums, but the Joey era is more in tune with classic sounding thrash metal, and some purists will say that is all that matters. For them, I pick Persistence of Time, the best album of that era. And, by the way, is Charlie Bennatte an amazing drummer or what?
5. Often underrated, and unjustly so, the best damn band to ever come out of Jersey (it sure as hell ain’t Bon Jovi!), Overkill are fucking heavy as hell and, when the song fits it, fast as fuck. With songs filled with badass attitude Overkill destroy much of the competition. Horrorscope is their best work, being immensely heavy and utterly and completely awesome.
6. What can be said about the band that made THE definitive song about mosh in the form of The Toxic Waltz? Yeah, they have had three different signers, but guess what? The quality of the music has never, ever suffered. Their debut Bonded by Blood is one of the greatest and most influential thrash metal albums ever put on this Earth. Exodus, at their best, make you wanna beat the crap out of someone. All hail!
7. Chuck Billy truly has one of the best voices in all of thrash metal. He can sign a ballad (The Legacy) or rip your fucking head off with his ferocity (Dog-Faced Gods). The same can be said of the band. Souls of Black remains my fav album, a great mix of melody and brutality, but arguments can be made for the viciousness of The New Order.
8. Germany proved they can thrash with the best of them. In fact, Kreator’s heaviness would be influential in the creation of death metal. Coma of Souls is one fucker you can hear a million times and never tire. And, guess what? They still have it. See the amazing Enemy of God for proof.
9. by mixing hardcore punk and thrash Suicidal set themselves apart from the rest of the thrash metal heap. Their later day work incorporated more melody and more metal, and me thinks, their best work, as evident by Lights, Camera, Revolution.
10. Much like the rest of the supposed second tier thrash metal bands like Exodus and Testament, Nuclear Assault don’t get the respect they deserve, but if you listened to stuff like Something Wicked, you would know they deserve to get much more respect.

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