While the passing of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman is still a shock to many fans, his musical impact remains immortal. And with new material to be released by the band, his art may still find life. During an interview with Loudwire, Tom Araya of Slayer said that material Hanneman shared with the band before his passing might be included in Slayer’s next studio recording sessions.
Araya shared that the band has two songs of his work with one song that Hanneman produced in full, saying:
“Before he passed away, there was one complete song that he had managed to send to everybody that I listened to and that I thought was really, really good and communicated that to him. There’s stuff that I thought would be great to listen to just to see what’s there and how we can possibly use what he had done. That’s something I have every intension of doing.”
As for Araya’s feelings on the song, he communicated what was going through his mind as he heard it.
“Listening to that, and this isn’t meant in a bad way, but when I listen to it and I’m thinking about him, it’s kind of like, ‘F—in’ Jeff!” [laughs]. That’s what crosses my mind; ‘F—in’ Jeff!’”
Slayer’s booking agent Scott Sokol recently indicated that the band was working on new music, with an official announcement expected in the next few weeks. He also said the band had never considered taking a break following the guitarist’s death. Slayer is scheduled to set out on a North American tour later this month.
