 |
One day, as I was perusing Slayer’s discography on metal-archives.com, I saw this tucked between the Combat Tour Live video and Hell Awaits in 1985: Jeff Hanneman home recording. What?!? I tracked it down. Turns out it’s more of a riff tape than a demo. It’s just Hanneman with a drum machine. It’s also a rare opportunity to hear him on vocals. (Hearing non-vocalists do metal vocals is always a hoot – see Cannibal Corpse’s Centuries of Torment DVD.) After the relatively blah God Hates Us All, which Kerry King mostly wrote, I was convinced that Hanneman wrote Slayer’s best stuff. This tape disabused me of that notion. Riffs come and go without much logic, and the drum machine programming is hysterical. (Hanneman has an affinity for long, dramatic rolls.) Still, the riffs are enjoyably necro, and the excessive vocal reverb is charming. The track titles are provisional, though familiar bits crop up sometimes. The best moment is in “South of Heaven,” when the infamous intro riff comes in over huge, doomy drums. It’s almost better than the real thing.
This rules. Dude’s vocals are about seventy thousand times better than I woulda ever expected and the endless soloing is chock full of win. I like the slow bits and the quiet bits.
It’s interesting to hear such a primitive and rudimentary recording done by a heavily competent musician (though this might be an idiot savant case, considering the seven minute tom rolls and occasionally nonsensical structures, what the hell) when, as we know, four track/drum machine recordings are ususally reserved for considerably less skilled parties. This could also explain why Metallica’s black album demos outshine their studio equivalents by about fifty Grand Canyons worth of charm and rock’n'roll value. Bob Rock killed heavy metal.
“full of win” =
cringe…..
I’ll copy this comment that I posted on Metal Inquisition awhile ago verbatim, as those who believe Hanneman to be responsible for the best Slayer material are all too quick to forget:
“Uhhh, Hanneman wrote damn near every song on ‘Diabolus in Musica’, which is the only Slayer album that is complete and utter shit through and through. He also wrote all the worst songs on the latest album, including ‘Jihad’, with its fucking retarded AC/DC ‘Thunderstruck’ riffs. So… hate to break it to you, but… despite the fact that they’ve not been that hot since 1990, Kerry’s probably been responsible for more of their decent output in the last 15+ years.”
That being said, I’m very curious to check this out…
As with Iron Maiden, The Allman Brothers, and a host of other bands, I think King and Hanneman’s interplay makes them more than the sum of their parts. Either of them alone couldn’t carry their sound, and when they try to do so they fall short.
Ok, so maybe Duane could carry it.
Cool! Anyone else hear Metallica’s “Whiplash” in the opening of this “South of Heaven”recording? The drum sound gives me Kill ‘Em All flashbacks. Dig the dubbed out SoH riff in in the middle. This would OWN with a reggae beat behind it.
I had the exact same “greater than the sum of the parts” thought while writing this post.
I don’t remember Diabolus as being *that* bad…but maybe I’ve just repressed the memory.
thanks for posting these. always glad to hear nuggets of inspiration for songs and what not.
i do have to say modern slayer is much worse than i originally thought. pretty much anything post-seasons on the ipod gets quickly skipped. there are a few songs here and there that are good, but for the most part. ouch.
I personally enjoyed the shit out of God Hates Us All, but perhaps it was just my joy at hearing Lombardo return, tighter than ever (like the fills in Disciple – holy fuck do I like that drumming).
Has anyone HEARD post-Seasons Slayer? Not me, that’s for fuckin’ sure.
Also, there’s a difference between “full of win” and “chock full of win.”
Listening to this now and it’s awesome. I wish all the tracks sounded as clear as the one labeled “South of Heaven”, but the others are so killer. Total crossover worship, right down to the vocals. Dude should’ve done a side/solo project in the late-80’s, it’ve been fucking huge. GREAT post.
Oh, and everyone, come on… “Divine Intervention” is post-”Seasons…” and that was a really fucking good album.
“Bob Rock killed heavy metal.”
Yes, and it gets worse–he has now ruined the Hockey Night in Canada theme song.