RIP Jeff Hannemann of Slayer
Statement from Slayer:
“Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed. Our Brother Jeff Hanneman, May He Rest In Peace (1964 – 2013)”
NEWS: It’s true! Thrash ‘Big Four’ shows are happening!
Forgive the netspeak, but… ZOMG! WTF! The rumours are true! Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax are hitting the road together! The mythical Big Four Tour is going to become a reality… at least in the form of several festival appearances in mid 2010.
A posting on Metallica.com says: http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?1=1&item=602847
Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax . . . the rumors are true!
You’ve been posting and chatting about it for months and we’re here now to confirm it . . . Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax will all share the same stage for the first time EVER! Look for the four of us at the Sonisphere shows in Warsaw, Poland and Prague, Czech Republic on June 16 and 19, 2010 with a few more of the festival dates still in the works, you can be sure these shows won’t be the only ones.
In the words of Lars: “Who would have thought that more than 25 years after its inception, thrash metal’s big 4 would not only still be around and more popular than ever, but will now play together for the first time…what a mindfuck! Bring it on!”
What more can we say??
So it won’t just be Sonisphere, it will be some other festivals too… could a full tour be in the works after that? We shall see!
CLICK HERE for my September 2009 interview with Dave Mustaine.
LINKS:
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Dean Dave Mustaine V VMNT Gears of War Signature Electric Guitar Graphic
NEWS: Kerry King Australian instore appearances
Awesome. My pals at AMS, Aussie distributors of Dunlop/MXR, just alerted me to the very cool news that Slayer’s Kerry King will be appearing at Allans in Melbourne and Kosmic Sound in Perth while in Australia for the joint Slayer/Megadeth metalfest. I can’t wait for this gig!
Melbourne at Allans Bourke Street at 3.30pm – 5.30pm on FRIDAY October 9th –
Perth – at Kosmic Sound Cannington at 1.00pm – 3.00pm on Tuesday 13th October -
NEWS: Megadeth and Slayer tour together
MEGADETH AND SLAYER TO CO-HEADLINE
“CANADIAN CARNAGE” JUNE TREK
Monday, April 27, 2009 — Talk about a mind-blowing line-up. Slayer and Megadeth – two of the bands that defined the thrash/metal genre – will perform together for the first time in more than 15 years when they co-headline four shows in Canada in late June. The tour, dubbed “Canadian Carnage,” will also feature Machine Head and Suicide Silence, and will see Megadeth and Slayer each closing two of the four shows. Tickets will go on sale Saturday, May 2, and will be available at all Ticketmaster outlets and at Ticketmaster online.
Few bands come close to matching the intensity that Slayer brings to its live shows, having been named “Best Live Band” by numerous media outlets including Revolver, SPIN, and Metal Hammer. Slayer – guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, vocalist/bassist Tom Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo – is currently in Los Angeles recording its as yet untitled tenth studio album with Greg Fidelman producing and Rick Rubin executive producing. Fans were given an early taste of the brutal new Slayer material when “Psychopathy Red,” a song inspired by the heinous Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who confessed to savagely murdering 56 children, was recorded last October and then leaked online. Attendees of “Canadian Carnage” will be treated to Slayer performing “Psychopathy Red” live on stage. Plans are to release the new album in July, in tandem wi th the Mayhem Festival tour Slayer is co-headlining with Marilyn Manson.
With over 20 million albums sold worldwide, the icon that is Megadeth culminated earlier this month, with Dave Mustaine’s acceptance of the highly coveted “Golden God” accolade and the band’s headline performance at the inaugural Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles. Megadeth – lead guitarist/lead vocalist Dave Mustaine, lead and rhythm guitarist Chris Broderick, bassist James Lomenzo and drummer Shawn Drover – is currently recording their 12th studio album in Los Angeles with Andy Sneap. The disc is scheduled for release later this summer to coincide with a full scale world tour. Known for their ferocious live show, Megadeth will once again bring this intensity to their loyal throng of Canadian followers.
Bay Area titans Machine Head add to the carnage as main support. Machine Head – vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn, guitarist Phil Demmel, bassist/backing vocalist Adam Duce and drummer Dave McClain – are currently touring in support of their critically-acclaimed and Grammy nominated The Blackening. Since its release, the band has been awarded both Best Album at the Metal Hammer Awards and Album of the Year at Kerrang’s annual ceremony that same year. And with a fan base so rabid, they’ve actually been banned from certain U.S. venues, Machine Head will bring with them the relentless stage show they are renowned for.
There is little doubt in anyone’s mind that Suicide Silence is one of the frontrunners of the new wave of American metal, a statement further validated as the group won the “Best New Talent” award at the inaugural Revolver Golden Gods Awards, held at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on April 7. The group was also hailed as the event’s breakthrough artist by the L.A. Times, but make no mistake that this extreme juggernaut is not resting on its laurels and is about to take things up a notch with their highly-anticipated sophomore release, No Time to Bleed, which was produced by acclaimed producer Machine (Lamb of God) and set for a June 30 release.
Dates for the Megadeth/Slayer co-bill are:
24 GM Place, Vancouver, BC
26 Rexall, Edmonton, AB
27 Saddledome, Calgary, AB
29 MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB
“CANADIAN CARNAGE” TICKETS PRESALE
AT THE MEGAFANCLUB TUESDAY, APRIL 28 10AM
There will be a special FAN CLUB EXCLUSIVE Megadeth/Slayer “Canadian Carnage” concert tickets PRESALE held Tuesday, April 28 at 10AM! Fan club members, log in to the fan club Tuesday morning, click on “Tour” then “Tickets”. You will be provided with links to purchase your tickets from along with a password emailed to you late Monday. Tickets will go fast! Don’t delay!
NEWS: Epiphone Revolver Golden God winners
Winners of the first Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards have been announced ahead of tonight’s event at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. The winners are:
* Most Awesomely Good Drummer: Vinnie Paul Abbott (HELLYEAH, PANTERA)
* Best Underground Metal Band: ISIS
* Metal Industry Award: Rainbow Bar & Grill
* Best Album: METALLICA
* Honorary Headbanger: Kat Von D
* Golden God: Dave Mustaine (MEGADETH)
* Best Riff: SLIPKNOT
* Most Viral Video: PROTEST THE HERO
* Most Metal Athlete: Shaun White
* Best Live Band: SLIPKNOT
* Best New Talent: SUICIDE SILENCE
* Lifetime Achievement: Ozzy Osbourne
* Best International Band: DETHKLOK
* Reader’s Choice Award: THE ACACIA STAIN
* Most Mind-Blowing Guitarist: Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King (SLAYER)
* Hottest Chick In Metal: Marta Peterson (BLEEDING THROUGH)
The ceremony will be broadcast on MTV2 as a one-hour special debuting Saturday May 2, and will feature performances from MEGADETH, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, HATEBREED, ALL THAT REMAINS and SUICIDE SILENCE. It will be hosted by Brian Posehn (The Sarah Silverman Program).
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NAMM 2009: Another Kerry King B.C. Rich V
There’s another Kerry King V on the way. Jeff Hanneman was always my favourite Slayer guitarist but it seems Kerry’s the one who got bitten by theh the endorsement bug (although check out Jeff’s ESP signature guitars).
Here’s the press release:
The hundreds of thousands of people that have seen Kerry King on stage with Slayer recently have seen his Generation 2 graphics. This new striking tribal design is floating over a hand drawn flame making it visually striking. Now B.C. Rich is bringing this great new graphic to a new production model called the Kerry King V2.
The body shape is the aggressively styled B.C. Rich speed V and it has been augmented with many Kerry King inspired features. The V2 model is equipped with B.C.R.A. active pickups and a genuine Kahler tremolo. It also features a basswood body, bolt-on construction, ebony fingerboard, special inlay and a Beast headstock. The 24 jumbo frets provide 2 full octaves of notes to shred.
For more information, visit their web site at www.bcrich.com.
NAMM 2009: New Kerry King B.C. Rich
The Beast V combines the Beast and Speed V body shapes (kinda like the Gibson Zakk Wylde ZV, which combines the back of a V and the front of an SG. For more information, see Dean Splittail).
The Beast V NT have neck-through construction, active B.C. Rich pickups and a Khaler Tremolo. The standard Beast V will have a string-through/tune-o-matic bridge setup and B.C. Rich B.D.S.M. humbuckers.
I met Kerry about 7 years ago at a CD launch party for Machine Head, who were supporting Slayer on an Australian tour. Once upon a time I was way into Slayer, so I marched over to him and said “Hey man, it’s so cool to meet you, I used to play ‘Dead Skin Mask’ in my high school band.” He looked me up and down and said “Yeah, but I bet you didn’t play it right.” What? Here I am meeting a dude I rocked out to big-time when I was 15, and he was cussing me out? I shot back “Dude, I could show you how to play it right.” I immediately realised the folly of what I’d done: though he’s shorter than me, he’s shorter in the way that a pitbull is shorter than a standard poodle. As the terrible reality started to sink in (preceding in short order, I was sure, the sinking of Kerry King’s fist into my temple), I quickly changed the subject, telling him I was excited about the following night’s Slayer/Machine Head gig because I’d never had the chance to see Slayer before, as I grew up in a small town a million miles away from anywhere they’d ever played. He said this was no excuse. At this point I bade him farewell and shuffled off to chat with some dudes who ran a metal show on public radio – while keeping one eye on Kerry King, lest he send his Slayer-fan minions to pummel me in the parking lot.
(In the interests of correct linkage and good manners, which do matter very much according to Kenneth Graeme in Wind In The Willows, I read about the new guitars on Blabbermouth but they got the news from Gearwire.)
HALLOWEEN BRUTALITY – The Most Evil Albums Ever
Click on any title to buy the album.
Black Sabbath – Dehumanizer
There are many evil Sabbath albums, but the demonic alliance of Tony Iommi and Ronnie James Dio was never spookier than on this 1992 release. The production is swimming in natural reverb, making it sound like you’ve stumbled across the band playing in a crypt or something, and you can practically hear Dio throwing the devil horn hand gesture as he sings. Try to get through the opening riff of ‘After All (The Dead’ without getting the creeps.
Slayer – Reign in Blood
30 minutes and 20-something seconds of thrash carnage. Topics include death, dying, mortality, killing, and being killed. Aside from a whole bunch of songs with running times less than two and a half minutes, there’s also ‘Raining Blood’ and ‘Angel of Death,’ each at almost 5 minutes, for those who like their evil to be bigger than snack size.
Paul Gilbert – Burning Organ
This album as a whole isn’t evil, but it includes the track ‘I Am Satan’ which begins with the count-off “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6!!!” and goes on to tell the tale of Satan falling in love with a chick, but freaking out about what she’ll do when she finds out who he is. Will she stay or will she go? ‘Burning Organ’ also includes the track ‘Suicide Lover,’ which features the classic line “She’s a suicide lover. You could say her love’s the bomb.”
Megadeth – United Abominations (Japanese version with ‘Out On The Tiles’ Led Zeppelin cover) Roadrunner
Any album loaded with as many puns as this one has got to be evil. Puns are the most evil form of humour there is. This one also gets bonus spooky points for lines like “The angel of death is pissed off with me again, just because I got to put you out of my misery.”
Devin Townsend – Ziltoid The Omniscient Hevy Devy
What could be more evil than a demented alien who attacks earth because he needs a caffeine hit? Nothing, that’s what. Devin recorded and performed all of this monster album single-handedly, and it features some of his best melodic songwriting since Ocean Machine, as well as lots of brutal Strapping Young Lad-style metal.
Jonas Brothers – A Little Bit Longer
This is obviously the most evil album of all time.
Hi! I'm Peter Hodgson. I write for Gibson.com, Australian Guitar, Australian Musician, Mixdown Magazine (including my instructional column, 'Unleash Your Inner Rock God,' which has been running since 2007), Blunt, Beat (including their weekly hard rock/metal column Crunch) and The Brag. And I'm Assistant Social Coordinator with Seymour Duncan.
I've been playing guitar since I was 8 years old, and I've been writing for magazines since I was 18. I've also worked as a guitar teacher (up to 50 students a week), a setup tech, a newspaper editor, and I've also dabbled in radio a little bit. I live in Melbourne, Australia, and my hobbies include drinking way too much coffee, and eating way too much Mexican food.
You can check out my guitar playing at Bandcamp or on YouTube, and feel free to email me at iheartguitarblog@gmail.com