AT THE GATES Frontman Pays Tribute To SLAYER's JEFF HANNEMAN

Decibel magazine’s July issue (on newsstands in June) features a nine-page tribute to late SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman in the form of a moving retrospective obituary, some of Hanneman's most biting quotes, and a litany of heartfelt remembrances from EXODUS, Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA),AT THE GATES, TESTAMENT, CANNIBAL CORPSE and countless other contemporaries, including AT THE GATES and LOCK UP frontman Tomas Lindberg.

"One of the first records I waited for to come out was 'Hell Awaits'," Tomas said. "I still remember the process of buying it — and I mean the whole process of buying it — to this day.

"I was totally obsessed with the whole concept of the album. I sat with headphones on (you know, the big '70s kind) for days and days listening to it on repeat, staring at the pictures, reading the lyrics, learning them by heart.

"This will sound totally cheesy, but back in those days, I always had a favorite dude in every band — a dude you wanted to be or pretended to be when you listened to it (remember, I was 13 when 'Hell Awaits' came out). And in SLAYER, that person was Jeff Hanneman.

"I remember going to the hair parlor with the record under my arm, asking to get my hair cut like Jeff — the fact that he had longer and much thinner hair didn't seem to bother me. When I later learned that he had penned a lot of my favorite songs in the SLAYER catalog — including the groundbreaking 'South Of Heaven' album — the more I thought of him as a cornerstone of my metal upbringing. He was the Cliff Burton of SLAYER to me.

"I always had a hard time picturing SLAYER without Jeff, and when they had to continue for a while without him (with an exceptional temporary replacement in Gary Holt, I must say),it was hard to get my head around it. If you have someone like Kerry King in your band —you (in my world) need at least one Jeff Hanneman in it to [balance it out].

"I have had tons of great SLAYER moments in my life, some of them life-changing. It would be hard to come out with one special story, although finally getting the chance to see them live for the first time at age 16, on the 'South Of Heaven' tour, was amazing!

"Thank you for everything, Jeff, even if I never had the chance to actually meet you. You were an integral part of my life! I and the rest of AT THE GATES and LOCK UP will miss you immensely."

Decibel's Jeff Hanneman tribute issue can be purchased here.

Hanneman passed away on May 2 from liver failure at the age of 49.

Members of SLAYER released a statement on May 9 saying that Hanneman died of alcohol-related cirrhosis.

Hanneman had actually not been playing with SLAYER for more than two years since he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard in January 2011. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.

Hanneman's last appearance with SLAYER was in April 2011, when he played an encore with the band at the "Big Four" concert in Indio, California.