Slayer Will Never Be The Same again - and They Should Acknowledge That

First it was Jeff Hanneman, who died on May 2nd with liver failure, and then it was Dave Lombardo, who was fired weeks after Hanneman's death. In less than a month, Slayer lost two of it's founding members. Suddenly, the man who wrote the riff in 'Raining Blood' and the drummer that reinvented the art of metal percussion with 5 seconds near the end of 'Angel Of Death' aren't in the band that those songs are credited to.

Slayer have changed. They are different, and will never be the same again.

Hanneman is an obvious loss, even more tragic when the circumstances are considered. With Lombardo, there is personal differences - Hanneman cannot be apologized to and brought back. No longer will the blonde headbanger be seen standing in his familiar stage-left position, duelling with Kerry King with the consistent brutality that was always underappreciated next to King's more - obvious -  style.

Dave Lombardo is the best metal drummer in the world. That's it. Forget those who drool over Joey Jordison's Tommy Lee impersonations for Slipknot and Mark Portonoy's progressive chops. Those guys are impressive, but no-one so emphatically surmises all that is metal drumming better than Dave Lombardo. Lightning fast, brutally consistent and with exceptional stamina and technique - nothing evokes the relentless power of thrash metal more than DL's 32nd notes on the kick drum, his one handed 16th notes on the hi-hat in a metal world where most drummers avoid it as a technique, his almost scientific attention to percussive detail. His drumming is key to the Slayer sound, their appeal and their cult status.

Hanneman is the same. Slayer aficionados will wax lyrical about Hanneman's contribution to the greatest of the Slayer songs, and a little bit of research will inform of his huge contribution to their, and arguably metal's greatest and purest album - Reign In Blood.

Now, Slayer will move on with Paul Bostaph on drums and one of Pat O'Brien or Gary Holt as guitarist. All three are great musicians, but quite simply not to the extent that Jeff and Dave were.

Even if the songs are replicated perfectly - there is something intangibly brilliant about the chemistry that original members of bands have with each other that can't be quantified by how accurate the notes are. That magic is gone with Slayer forever, assuming that this is Lombardo's last stint with the band. Bands can recapture and continue that aura if one person leaves - AC/DC managed it without Bon Scott, Guns N' Roses did it in the early 90's without Izzy Stradlin - but more than that and the band, however successful, always has a certain karaoke feel to it. Without Hanneman Slayer has no lungs, without Lombardo it has no guts.

If anything they should acknowledge it - are they really Slayer now? With two out of the four gone, metal's most evil band are now a sinister version of the White Stripes. You could make an argument that they should stop being called 'Slayer' - as long as Lombardo is gone too.

They won't - as long as Tom Araya is still screaming and Kerry King and his tattoos are still adorning metal posters everywhere most of Slayer's obvious traits are still intact, but for the rest of us it won't feel right, and never will again.

So, if you get the chance - listen to Reign In Blood, or Christ Illusion or watch the Big Four show in 2010 where the world's most relentless thrash band showed why they were impervious to criticism, nu metal and metal-fearing Christians. Without Hanneman and Lombardo, they just seem much more mortal. Without Hanneman and Lombardo, Slayer will never be the same again.