Christie Goodwin/Getty ImagesEx-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo has shared a tribute to late guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died five years ago. In the piece, published via Metal Hammer, Lombardo writes that if his former band mate were still alive and in Slayer, which is currently on a farewell tour, he “wouldn’t want to retire.”
“He’d fight to keep the band going,” Lombardo says. “He’d have taken the band by the horns and driven it on. His love and his passion was music and being onstage. That passion was dampened by toxins, but it was still there.”
In his tribute, Lombardo also writes that Hanneman was responsible for introducing punk to Slayer’s sound, which helped develop the band’s signature thrash style.
“It was a huge pivot point — our songs became faster, more aggressive after that,” Lombardo explains. “He was the one that brought that element to Slayer.”
Hanneman, a founding member of Slayer, died in May 2013 of liver failure. Lombardo, also a original member, had been fired from the band a few months prior.
Slayer released Repentless, their first album without Hanneman, in 2015. They announced their farewell earlier this year. The final world tour will stretch into 2019.
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
