Jeff Hanneman
Jeff Hanneman (born
January 31,
1964 in
Los Angeles,
California) is best known as a
guitarist in the
thrash metal band
Slayer.
|
"Jeff Hanneman" of Slayer |
He has written many of the band's most famous songs, including "Angel of Death" and "Raining Blood". Hanneman also wrote the music for many of Slayer's classic songs such as "South of Heaven", "War Ensemble" and "Seasons in the Abyss". Slayer's later albums became dominated by Hanneman's song-writing, forming a music/lyrics writing partnership with
Tom Araya, which can sometimes overshadow the creative input of
Kerry King into the band. Jeff Hanneman is also a fan of punk-rock music which ultimately led to Slayer's
Undisputed Attitude album. He cites
Iron Maiden,
Judas Priest, and
Led Zeppelin, among others, as some of his main influences.
Hanneman has long had an interest in
Nazi Germany and
Nazi war medals. Many people have taken this to be evidence that Hanneman, as well as the rest of
Slayer, are Nazis. The song "Angel of Death" is based on
Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor who committed horrifying and completely pointless experiments on prisoners of the concentration camps in
Auschwitz. However, the band have stated numerous times that they do not condone Nazism or racism, and are merely interested in the subject.
Hanneman uses
Marshall amps,
Jackson guitars,
Kahler bridges and his own
ESP signature guitar.
Contrary to popular belief,
Joey Fuchs from the ill-fated American band
Bloodcum (featuring John Araya) is not Hanneman's brother (see [
1] and [
2]). Hanneman and Fuchs were joking when they claimed to be brothers.
Hanneman is married and, despite the claims of many sources, does not have any children.
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Slayer Discography*
Band Official Page
