But Slayer is a pretty damn big band who make pretty damn good money, estimated 20 million albums worldwide plus all the touring & merch income, they're rich bitches.

I think a lot of people are kinda overreacting here, Kerry just said that it's ok if Jeff doesn't want to come back anymore though he's welcome to return any time he wants. Kerry isn't gonna risk losing the band that he co-founded and has been the biggest part of his life for the last 30+ years because of Jeff's complications, you need an ace up in the sleeve and Kerry's is Gary Holt.
Obviously Kerry and Jeff haven't been able to meet and talk to each other for a long time since Kerry is constantly on the road with Slayer while Jeff is in L.A getting paid for sitting at home, so Kerry can't really know what's up with Jeff right now.

^ Your bullshit is neatly presented, much more reasonable-sounding than when Kerry phrased it. Still bullshit, though. I'll actually spell it out, since it doesn't prove as self-explanatory for some as it was for me:

— Slayer is not, never was, never should be, and hopefully never will be "Kerry's band". Jeff is the single individual member with the most legitimate claim to owning the band and/or being its mainman, not Kerry. The most reasonable and, frankly, kindest arrangement to all parties involved would be something like 50% Jeff, 25% Kerry, 25% Tom & Dave combined. That is to say, a Slayer line-up without Jeff is not, never was and never will be okay (including "just" the current live line-up). That Kerry even thinks it is his call to make whether the band can, should or will go on without Jeff is insulting in and of itself.

— The year is 2013, not 1813. Being apart geographically by no means justifies not being in contact at all for months (if not years, judging by Kerry's statement). Especially not for bandmates, and supposedly equal partners in business/whatever Slayer has become in the law's eyes. Kerry is just going around pretending to be Slayer without Jeff and without Jeff's involvement at all, and acting like it's okay or even legal, but it's not by any stretch of the imagination.

— Jeff Hanneman should sue him right this instant.

Sounds like Hanneman isn't interested in returning. People here hint at that he's alright and could play, or at least compose, but where is he? And in typical American bullshit individualistic fashion, no one is talking to anyone, and no one cares. So what's King to do? Not to defend him, but doesn't sound like he's ready to call it quits and while keeps the business going everyone else is making money too, at least indirectly.

The Lombardo thing sucks of course but I don't get the idea that Lombardo is easy to deal with either. I guess Slayer could go on indefinite hiatus till Hanneman returns, or not. In the end though as much as some of us here complain, people are happy to go see King & Friends perform and would probably buy the new all-King composed album. You can't blame King for self-identifying with Slayer, he's doing his part, basically doing all the work, while Hanneman is on self-imposed vow of silence/early retirement, Araya doesn't say or do much, and Lombardo is digging into finances.

@LegendMaker

I do not speak bullshit. Ever.

- Why is Jeff "the single individual member with the most legitimate claim to owning the band", because he wrote most of the stuff on their first 5 albums and Diabolus In Musica? Ok he did 6 songs on World Painted Blood whereas Kerry did 5 but Kerry wrote the majority on Divine Intervention, God Hates Us All and Christ Illusion and now apparently he has enough new songs written for an entire new album. But more importantly, it's not like Jeff just one day in 1981 decided to start a band and hooked up with Kerry, Tom and Dave. No it went like this, Kerry said "why dont we start our own band?" and Jeff said "fuck yeah man!", and this is something Jeff himself said in an interview in 2006.

- Well I have like 10 friends I haven't talked to or been in any contact with in over 2 years and I even have their phone numbers. It's very possible.

-If he did that then that would make him the same kind of a drama queen Kerry & co already are, wouldn't it? Jeff has his pride, he's above that type of shit.


Dont get me wrong though, I'm siding with Jeff just as much if not more than I'm siding with Kerry here, I'm just offering an opposite point of view to this discussion, to not make this a one-sided Hanneman sympathy thread.

I don't get all the squabbling over this. 30 years is a great run for any entity to be in business these days never mind a band. They gave us a few classic albums and many memories. They are obviously near the end of the line, if not officially, then unofficially. I'd rather see them throw in the towel now than put out another mediocre album and tour with only two original members, but I don't make that decision.

I'm actually incredibly surprised that Kerry King hasn't contacted (called, emailed, whatever) Jeff Hanneman for months even just to see if he was recovering from the necrotizing fasciitis. Even if there's an "all Kerry King - composed" Slayer album, that probably won't be enough for everything in Slayer to be resolved.

Not sure if this is entirely relevant, but Megadeth were touring with just one or two members of their original line-up for years, so there are bands who make this kind of situation (though not as serious obviously) work and the fact that Slayer apparently can't means that Slayer are probably on their last legs any way.

It isn't really relevant. The difference is that Megadeth has pretty much always been Dave Mustaine + three other guys, although Ellefson could easily claim the right to be included with Mustaine.

1. I don't think Slayer are dirt poor and Kerry King's retirement plan is more than covered at this point.

2. It's kind of shitty to screw your bandmates and drag your name through the mud so you can get a better pension.

3. Lots of people don't seem to realize you can do business the right way and STILL roll in dough. It can actually be a good thing to value your brand and act accordingly.

Right! I don't know why they want to screw over Lombardo when he is healthy, and willing to perform! They probably should just call it quits.

I know it's fun to hate on Kerry King, but you could try to be a bit more objective about it.



In no way does Jeff represent twice as much of the band as Kerry does. Those two are about equal, with Araya having less ownership, and Dave having the least. Jeff missing is just as problematic as Kerry missing would be.



Why is this only on Kerry? Jeff can contact Kerry just as easily. The fact that he came onstage a while ago to play with them but seems to have made no progress since indicates to me that he isn't that interested in being the band anymore. Do you really think Jeff would be completely silent if he really wanted to be back on the road/in the studio with Kerry and Tom?

I don't see why Kerry shouldn't be allowed to keep going. For one thing, it isn't just him who relies on the band, Tom does too (and Tom has a family). We know Slayer has been successful, but nobody really knows how much money they have stashed away. Even if it is a lot, should everyone in the band put their lives on hold for several years because of an unfortunate incident?

Their lives? No.

Their band? Depends who you talk to.

That's how I feel. I mean, I think we can all agree that Slayer's glory days are far, far behind them, at least for those who are interested in their works up to Seasons... And at the end of the day, Slayer is basically a mainstream band. I know we all want the world to operate on passion only, but Slayer is a business now and has been for a LOONG time. Maybe that's a cop out on my end, but a band at this level has passed over from passionate hobby to full time job to cash cow, and it's to be expected. Calling for lawsuits and the like is just a tad over the top, in my opinion.

I've never been the most die hard of fans for Slayer, hell I wasn't even into them that much until late 2004, but I respect them to high hell for what they did for music. Because of that respect, I think it's time for Slayer to just hang it up. Let the name Slayer rest, have the members join other projects (as a loyal bassist worshiper, I'll listen to whatever Tom does). Let it end now before this gets too messy and taints the band and the love their fans have for it.

Let me rephrase your question for you, and the answer it already contains will be more evident: Why do people give a shit about Slayer in the first place?

Besides, who formally started the band in the origins is not always the decisive criterion in determining whose band it is (or at least, should be). I for one am all for the "band should belong to the main driving force behind it" concept, more specifically applied to the band's seminal/classic/good era. Kerry might as well have written the entirety of their post-Seasons repertoire, it's not like people go see the band to hear those songs. Slayer's reputation is based on Jeff's "Raining Blood", Jeff's "South of Heaven", Jeff's "Angel of Death", Jeff's "Die by the Sword", Jeff's "Seasons in the Abyss", and then some.


Well, I'm not in on their personal relationship's status. For all I know, Jeff called Kerry 2 years ago and called him a bloated douchebag, then hung up. What I do know is that the one actively using their band is Kerry. So, personal differences aside, he's the one who should make damn sure Jeff is okay with it. Simply assuming "well, I haven't talked to him lately, so I'll rape our brainchild because I feel like it, unless he calls me first, of course." is unacceptable bullshit.

And no, he shouldn't be allowed to go on without Jeff. For reasons stated above.


But I am over the top, baby! Seriously, though, I just see a trend of old legendary bands turned nostalgia-ridden businesses being totally fucked by one of their (sometimes ex-)member's paralegal shenanigans, so now I tend to side with the potential camp of legitimacy early on. In Slayer's case, Jeff.

When he said that Jeff's in LA and he lived far away, all I could think of, is that's bullshit. He hasnt spoken to him in "forever", which is obviously months, but probably years. All you need is a cell phone or laptop, at least weekly.
I have no doubt now that the new album will be: tom, kerry, with "special guests" gary and john, with generic riffs and lyrics with tons of "fucks".

Sure, I never defended them. But this has happened before and money makes you greedy.

If this gets like the Infernus vs everyone else, Jeff should win a lawsuit.

All these problems with Jeff makes me sad. I don't want to see Slayer without him and Lombardo. Fine for Gary Holt to replace Jeff one more time, but if this continues this way, then i surely want that they call it quits.

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?m ... mID=188144

From the sounds of it from Holt, the plan is still for Jeff to come back, or atleast that's what he thinks is is the plan.

I found this interesting, but can't blame it on America when there are other more pervasive targets.

My question would be, what does Hanneman want? I'd guess the answer is at this point to quit. Slayer have been strong, but not as strong as during their "mythological" days of the first five albums. Who really wants to write another song about serial killers?

As far as Lombardo goes, his lawyers seem to be not that aggressive. He's gotten re-hired as staff after quitting the band, and isn't trading on the actual value of his name.

Why is this any of our business as fans? What we all need to do is buy the album or not. Jeff and kerry's personal relationship is their own business. If slayer comes out with their best album since Divine, does any of this matter? Or vice versa if they releasetheir worst ever album, is our job to not buy it. Kerry will get the hint

That is a good point. However at this point Slayer's brand recognition is probably at its high point and it would sell a ton even if it was terrible. It's ok Slayer has been done since I started following them anyway (2005-ish) anyway). Honestly, new blood would be good for them. A new producer certainly wouldn't hurt either lol.

As long as Fidelman isn't doing the mixing of the next album, I'm happy with whoever they get.

This is actually an interesting way to look at it.
Lots of bands had benefit from having new blood in the band (Painkiller anybody?) and it seems Fidelman isn't involved very much right now. Could this be a good thing? Let's wait and see.

He did actually, and the case got thrown out.

But there's a difference between replacing a run-of-the-mill drummer and creepy pedophile like Dave Holland, who wasn't even an original member and replacing legends like Lombardo and Hanneman who were vital in developing Slayer's sound and were a huge part of its success.

True, but arguably when Dave Hollikeschildren was around is when they were most successful.
What I'm saying is that new blood can be a good thing either way. That's why we have to wait for some songs. We can't simply judge with nothing to base it on.

Not really at all, no.

Let me put it this way: if my cousin Joe and his best pals started a band called "Slayer" and announced 'Reign in Blood: part 2', would you feel like "waiting for some songs?" or would you go "shyeah right, good one"? Yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't know my cousin Joe and his best pals. Fair enough. Point taken. So how about my cousin the Exodus line-up started calling themselves "Slayer" and announced 'Reign in Blood: part 2', would you then feel like "waiting for some songs?" Because I wouldn't.

The point being: it's not Slayer without Hanneman, period. Whether fake Slayer churns out decent material or not is irrelevant.

Agreed on the rest of your post but I'm not optimistic, personally.

I'd say your cousin needs to pick a different name for his band and the album title. He isn't actually affiliated with the band, unlike Kerry King and Tom Araya.
SO I'd say your argument is pretty stupid.

So you'd miss the point despite spelling it out yourself?

For the record, "affiliated with the band" versus "the band"...

So... do you actually want a Slayer album written solely by Kerry King and Tom Araya?

Have they only written bad songs?
Don't judge until you've actually heard the music. If you know something about the new songs that we all here don't, PLEASE share with us. Otherwise, don't say the songs suck.

Wasn't your point that No Jeff = No Slayer? Yeah, I got that.

And that by excluding Hanneman from the band, they excluded themselves from Slayer.

Slayer was founded by both Hanneman and King, so both have equal rights to continue if the other one quits, right? It's not like the story with Sepultura where not even one member is an original one.

I don't agree with LegendMaker either. There were others besides Hanneman who contributed, even if his contributions were generally the best.

Fine, I agree to disagree. I already know a majority of the audience disagrees with me on that, since we live in a world where the day Angus Young gets a cold, they cancel the show, but when Malcolm Young is ill, they hire a replacement and keep on touring, and no riots or boycott ensue.

Tom usually only writes lyrics (and his I don't mind at all-- much better than King's 'fuckfest'), and King loves to abuse the same type of riff on nearly every song he pens.

I'm with Legend on this one. Hanneman is a crucial piece of the Slayer puzzle. King's delusional if he thinks he doesn't need Jeff.

But, we shall see what happens...

I totally agree. I hate Greg Fidelman for what he did to World Painted Blood and he should never come near a metal album ever again.