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Posts tagged “Westboro Baptist Church

JEFF HANNEMAN Memorial Compilation

Fans and prominent figures in the metal community congregated to celebrate the life of guitarist Jeff Hanneman. The memorial took place yesterday afternoon at the Hollywood Palladium.

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Exodus and Slayer guitarist Gary Holt and Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. Photo by Stephanie Cabral.

TBOS has compiled coverage of the event from various sources.

Metal Hammer gave an excellent run-down of the event, elaborating on those who were in attendance and the speeches they gave. One of the most memorable passages from the article:

A video montage of Jeff’s life kicks off. Pictures of Jeff as a small child drive more than a few audience members to tears, as Fade to Black accompanies the footage. When the tunes change to South of Heaven, five or six circle pits break out across the main floor. From the balcony it looks like a map of tropical storms forming across the Caribbean. Circle pits at a memorial service. Epic.

Blabbermouth.net posted an elaborate article on Hanneman and his legacy, along with fan-filmed footage of the memorial.

Loudwire also did a recap of the event, with emphasis on the various speeches.

Brian Slagel (Metal Blade Records): (Jeff was) such an unbelievable player. Really, back then, you had the feeling that something special was happening when we made (Show No Mercy), but none of us really realized how special that would become.

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Brian Slagel speaking at the memorial. Photo by Kathy Flynn.

Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo on behalf of producer Rick Rubin (who produced Slayer’s most famous album, Reign in Blood): He was an innovator, an original and a creative force who we will all miss everyday going forward. Thankfully he left us with recordings we can listen to anytime we want to feel his presence.

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Robert Trujillo speaking at the memorial. Photo by Kathy Flynn.

Slayer guitarist Kerry King insisted that the event was a celebration and told the audience funny stories about the band’s early days.

Though the Westboro Baptist Church had planned to protest at the memorial, the group was nowhere to be seen.