Slayer 66 2/3: The Jeff & Dave Years. A Metal Band Biography.

by Ferris, D. X.

  The short, unannounced appearance barely lasted ten minutes, for “South of Heaven” and “Angel of Death.”

  Several photographers were on hand for the concert, but the best pictures came from Andrew Stuart, the official photographer of the Rick Sales Entertainment Group. With unrestricted access, the ace hovered at the back of the stage and captured one last unforgettable image of Hanneman in performing: Back turned to the crowd, altered arm exposed, Hanneman strums his customized black ESP guitar, standing in the wash from a white spotlight. The crowd is invisible in a swath of darkness. Behind the guitarist, colored lights dot the horizon. A wisp of red smoke surrounds Hanneman. Casting a long shadow toward the camera, he looks like he’s on a platform, hovering above the world.

  On videos from the show, Hanneman’s fingers are moving fast, and he’s not just pretending to play. No question the performance was a tough one. Later, in a frank appraisal, King said it wasn’t exactly a triumphant return.

  "He wasn't ready for that,” King told Blakk. “I think we all thought that that might jumpstart him and get him going down a more hardcore road to recovery, but he wasn't ready for that.”

  Nobody knew it at the time, but Hanneman would never appear onstage with Slayer again.

  The Big Four roadshow continued, playing three more European festivals (two of them Sonisphere shows). Then that chapter of metal history ended with a show at New York City’s new Yankee Stadium, September 14, 2011.

  For generations of metal fans, the shows were a nice commemorative event. Reviews were mixed. Plenty of fans felt they were worth a $100 ticket, and they walked away happy on general principle, having seen all Big Four bands in a single sitting.

  Professional metalheads had seen the bands many times before, long ago, and were not blown away. Metal Sucks “live-snarked” the event and had the best time during Slayer’s set:

  “With Araya unable to headbang, Lombardo obviously being tied to the drums, and Holt really being a guest, this has become the Kerry King show,” noted Axl Rosenberg. “I’ve never seen him move around so much on stage before. It’s like they gave him cocaine right before he went on…. ‘Dead Skin Mask’… There are three-four good sized pits in the [general admission] section, but the fact that the entire crowd isn’t trying to kill each other is a little disappointing. Especially since, at least based on how [many] people earlier claimed to be seeing Anthrax live for the first time, I’m assuming it’s mostly young folks in there.”49-5

  Even the New York Times covered the event. The venerable institution called it down the middle and declared Slayer the winner:

  “Metallica’s two-hour-plus set earned its top billing, with lasers, flash pots and fireworks; every member of the band performed proprietary stage prances, individual solos and strategic crowd pumping. After 30 years they’re good at this,” wrote Ben Ratliff. “[Anthrax have] always been lower-key than their California counterparts, the opposite of how these things usually play out in American music, and they used their easy disposition to their advantage…. Whether the problem was his neck or something else, there was a sense of distance in [Mustaine’s] performance. He didn’t get all the way in. Slayer did, though…. For a memorable 40 minutes or so Yankee Stadium became a dark and contemplative place…. Rhythmically it swung, unlike Metallica, whose rhythm often grew unstable and plodding, especially in its recent songs.”49-6

  In the two American concerts, thrash metal’s combined might generated $10 million at the gate alone — a big net take, but apparently not enough for anyone to retire49-7.

  Chapter 50:

  New Year, No Album

  Without Hanneman, Slayer had kept busy steadily from February through September 2011, but still only played around 60 shows. As the buzzer rang on the year, Hanneman was still on the injured reserve.

  After the Indio Big Four concert, Hanneman had been working to come back, but his arm still hadn’t recovered. After the final Big Four concert, he continued a limited rehab regimen. Leading up to the November 2011 Fun Fest in Austin, Texas, he practiced with the band for three weeks. Hanneman could ace the slow songs. But when it came to the faster thrash material, he still wasn’t near enough to 100% to earn King’s confidence.

  “ [Hanneman’s performance level] wasn't there,” King recalled in the Metal Zone interview. “He played the songs, but if you recorded it, you could definitely tell who's who. And after playing with Holt, who's nailing everything, you can't really take a step backwards… And I think [Hanneman] wants it to be awesome. So, as shitty a decision as it is, that's just how it is."50-1

  Contrary to King’s hopes, the Big Four show at Indio did not permanently inspire Hanneman to work harder. Hanneman wanted to be able to play guitar again. But beyond practicing guitar, he wouldn’t commit to the work.

  "I couldn't get Jeff to go to rehab or therapy," Kathryn recalled in Guitar World. "I think he was letting the visual of his arm get to his emotions, and it was messing with his mind. It was hard to keep him upbeat at that point.”50-2

  So as 2011 gave way to 2012, Hanneman remained sidelined at home, practicing guitar and drinking. He sank into a major depression.

  " I think he started to learn, once he tried rehearsing, that he wasn't playing up to his ability and that he wasn't able to play guitar at the speed he was used to,” Kathryn said. “And I think that really hit him hard, and he started to lose hope.50-3

  Lombardo found himself on injured reserve, too. In December 2011, shortly before Christmas, he fractured a leg while ice skating with his daughter. He bounced back quickly, and was playing a month later50-4.

  The band’s profile was at its highest for years, but Lombardo didn’t feel the band was acknowledging his extra effort. Unsatisfied with his paychecks, he hired some help to renegotiate his contract.

  King’s foundation was rocked in spring 2012. March 31, King’s longtime guitar tech, Armand B. Crump, died suddenly. He was just 35.

  King responded with a rare public emotional moment, issuing a written statement about his unsung behind-the-scenes ace.

  "The world lost a great man yesterday,” King wrote in a statement. “It was an incredibly rough day for me, I can't imagine what it was like for his family and Cassie [crump’s longtime girlfriend]. Needless to say, no one saw this coming. I thought I had a great guitar tech until the day I retire. Life is short. Enjoy what you have while you have it…. Love ya, buddy."50-5

  Members of Guns ‘N Roses, Megadeth, Lamb of God, Testament, and numerous others saluted the tattooed and burly technician, who was widely respected as a knowledgeable, likable professional who did the job right and treated tourmates well. Like his brothers on the Slayer crew, he had a healthy respect for the band and its history.

  “He was the best,” wrote Lombardo. “He had to be to work for Kerry King.”50-6

  In the meantime, Slayer kept Holt on retainer. For Summer 2012, the band mounted a full international tour.

  While some fans bristled at the notion of temp in the lineup, the inspired choice of Holt elevated the shows from a must-miss to a must-see. Holt did the material justice, with his axe tuned close to Hanneman settings, without his trademark tone substantially altering the material. Hanneman was hard to fill in for, but not impossible — he worn shin guards at most shows, but it wasn’t like he was known for diving across the stage, skidding on his knees.

  So the shows kept coming. That summer, Slayer hit the road as the no. 2 band on the stellar Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Tour, playing with a host of old friends. Slipknot headlined, preceded by Slayer, Motörhead, and Anthrax.

  In June 2012, Holt was still filling in for Slayer. That summer, 32 years after the band formed, Exodus played its first shows without Holt, the only member who had been with the band since its beginning.

  The members of Exodus never publicly griped about Holt’s absence. And Holt didn’t address it directly at the time. He insisted if push came to shove, he wouldn’t chose Slayer over Exodus if it meant the end of the Bay ban
d.

  “Not if it meant the end of what I’ve been doing my whole life,” Holt told Metal Titans later. “If I could manage both, you know… But I’ve been filling in for just over two years now and I’m booked all year with [Slayer]. But I’m just keeping the work going with Exodus and I’ve been doing a lot of riff writing on tour.”50-7

  (In Summer 2013, with details about the eleventh proper Slayer album up in the air, Exodus announced a new album and tour forthcoming in 2014.)

  With Holt committed to Slayer duty, Exodus recruited Bonded era guitarist Rick Hunolt to fill in. (Now Exodus had its original drummer, Tom Hunting, back on board. He had been with band for most of its history. When he left, he had been replaced by former Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph, after Lombardo rejoined Slayer.)

  Between May and August 2012, Slayer played about 50 shows, with sets at another half-dozen foreign festivals in the fall.

  Holt was 47 years old, with a track record of credibility and integrity, so it was hard to begrudge him the house-payment money. That summer, Exodus bounced from foreign fests and clubs to the American Scion Rock Fest tour. If Holt was willing to sit out Exodus gigs, it’s safe to assume the Slayer money was better than the checks from his main band.

  Slayer fans were indebted to Holt for the band’s only new music of 2012. July 1 at a home-state show, Slayer covered Exodus’ “Strike of the Beast” from Bonded by Blood at Mountain View, CA’s Shoreline Amphitheatre. The band nailed it, though Holt had to remind Araya of some lyrics midway through. Typical for that tour, the set ran:

  Intro: “Darkness of Christ”

  1. “Disciple”

  2. “War Ensemble”

  3. “Hate Worldwide”

  4. “Mandatory Suicide”

  5. “Altar of Sacrifice”

  6. “Jesus Saves”

  7. “Seasons in the Abyss”

  8. “Hell Awaits”

  9. “Dead Skin Mask”

  10. “Strike of the Beast”

  11. “Angel of Death”

  Encore:

  12. “South of Heaven”

  13. “Raining Blood”

  The Exodus cover didn’t become a regular part of the set list, but resurfaced during Slayer’s Fall 2013 old-school set. For 2012, Slayer wouldn’t add any new material to the show.

  Slayer did end the year with a seminal release. For the holiday season, the group issued an ornate sweater decorated with skulls and pentagrams. The $80 jumper sold out quickly. (At the time, the Slayer camp passed on answering good-natured questions about the yuletide merch.) The next year, a dozen bands followed suit, from Metallica to the mighty Motörhead.

  Click here to Google search “Slayer photos 2012”

  Chapter 51:

  Slayer XII: Embryonic Recording

  The year 2012 came and went without new Slayer songs. In February, Lombardo posted on his Facebook page, informing the public the band had written nearly an album worth of new tunes.

  “The King and I have seven kick ass songs for you so far, you're going to soil your pants!!!!”51-1

  In June, King told MTV’s Alternative Nation the band had recorded two songs51-2.

  Around the same time, Lombardo confirmed that he and the guitarist had been chipping away at new material since late 2011. They had been recording with the intent of releasing an EP. Tellingly, the drummer had few details about the business aspects of the potential release.

  “When it's going to be released?” Lombardo told Metal Forces’ Anthony Morgan. “I don't know. Is it done? I don't know. I know Tom has sung on the songs already, so they're pretty much done. Mixed? I don't know. I don't know the details. I don't know where it stands. It's all a mystery."

  He did, however, say the material was on the speedy end of the Slayer spectrum: “The first song is more of a 'War Ensemble' kind of fast. Just the pace, the tempo. That's all I can say… I don't remember the second song that they chose, though."51-3

  With a summer tour to promote, the Slayer camp continued discussing releasing the songs as a large single. But the EP never materialized.

  In August, King told Artisan News the two songs had been recorded with Greg Fidelman, the World Painted Blood producer whose growing résumé included High on Fire’s Snakes for the Divine and credits on Adele’s smash 21. According to King, over a 12-day window, they had recorded parts of two more tunes, with three demos ready and three songs written but not yet demo’d. (Over a year later, the songs remained unheard; Metallica and U2 songs might leak, but Slayer’s vaults are sealed tightly.)

  “Hopefully we'll get [the album] done before we pick up and tour again in October, " King said51-4.

  They didn’t.

  In January 2013, King finally explained Hanneman’s role — or lack thereof — in the developing album. King gave the scoop to Eddie Trunk, host of That Metal Show and Friday Night Rocks, at a Hartke spotlight at the NAMM:

  "I have enough material to do it on my own, if need be,” King said. “But I'm open; if Jeff comes to the party with some material, hell yeah, I've got extras…. I'll play all the guitars. But I mean, I've been playing all the guitars for years anyway — except for Jeff's leads."51-5

  In 2012, King revealed to Metal Zone’s Nikki Blakk his axework had dominated the albums since the 1990s.

  “A lot of the bass, too,” he told Blakk. “It's just that I play quick and I get to the track quick and I don't fuck around and take all day. So at the end of the day it becomes an efficiency issue and I'm very efficient."51-6

  So Slayer XI, when and if it arrived, looked like it would be a King album in the vein of God Hates Us All or Christ Illusion.

  As 2012 ended, no new Slayer album was on the horizon.

  And Hanneman was still at home, recuperating.

  And the next thing they knew, Slayer had more pressing business.

  Lombardo, 15 years later, playing the Download festival at Donington with Slayer. 2007. UK. Photo by Ester Segarra, www.e-segarra.com.

  Slayer without Hanneman. 2011. Meet-and-greet in São Paulo, Brazil. L to R: Holt, Lombardo, fan Guilherme Nozawa, and Araya.

  Courtesy of Nozawa, www.gbnozawa.com.

  Chapter 52:

  ”Dave’s Not Here” III

  “Dave’s acclimated back in the band,” Araya told KNAC.com in 2006. “But that’s not ever going to change how we are. We’re dysfunctional, and that’s never going to change.”52-1

  Slayer began 2013 with an unprecedented breakdown. And the year saw far worse.

  For Valentine’s Day, Slayer gave Lombardo the axe.

  After treading water through 2012, Slayer were scheduled to dive into 2013 with a series of Australian dates. All signs said the band were getting ready to serve up their eleventh studio album, with or without Hanneman.

  Then, suddenly, the lineup lost a wheel for the third and likely final time. Slayer’s first shocking change for 2013 was fallout from business arrangements. Lombardo had been unhappy with his Slayer paydays for years. He had hired a lawyer to renegotiate his terms of employment. Now the drummer made some dramatic allegations that ruptured the band.

  TOM’S VERSION

  Slayer rehearsed for the Australian tour, with Holt still in the lineup and Hanneman still on the bench. The music was there, but the room lacked harmony. Something seemed off. The drummer made some declarations that struck his bandmates as odd.

  “When we were rehearsing, [Lombardo] seemed to do a 180 and said some things that kind of upset me and Kerry,” Araya told Kory Grow, for the Minneapolis City Pages. “Kerry just looked at him and said, 'If you feel that way, then why are we even rehearsing for this tour?' So we wrote him a letter and said, 'Listen, we need to know if you're going to do the shows in Australia. If you're not, we need to do something about that.' We didn't get a reply. We were put in a position where we had to do something.”52-2

  DAVE’S VERSION

  The news broke Thursday, February 21: Lombardo announced on his Facebook page, “I was notified that I wo
uld not be drumming for the tour in Australia. I’m saddened, and to be honest I am shocked by the situation.”

  Lombardo laid out the scenario as he saw it. He described a convoluted tale of sweat, hard work, and no receipts: “Last year, I discovered 90% of Slayer’s tour income was being deducted as expenses including the professional fees paid to management, costing the band millions of dollars and leaving 10% or less to split amongst the four of us.”52-3

  While it’s possible Lombardo is correct — and this is 100% speculation with no basis in any kind of insider knowledge of the band’s business — it’s also possible he misinterpreted something. If the band draws most of its income from the road, then Lombardo’s scenario seems like the kind of discrepancy they would have noticed. According to the drummer, once the math didn’t add up, he kept digging.

  Lombardo said he spent the 2012 holidays wondering where his paychecks from the year were. He claimed he hadn’t been paid for the 2012 tours — beyond a “small advance.”52-4

  Lombardo divorce records signed by Lombardo’s attorney (but not Lombardo) reveal that Slayer had owed Lombardo $194,027, and he had been paid $112,027 of it, as of July 201352-5. (The exact amount varies in a different document filed in May, but the figures are close52-6.)