Welcome to Talkin' Slayer: A Podcast and Half-@ssed Audiobook. This is Episode 01: Jeff Hanneman Made the Difference. Talkin' Slayer is the first podcast dedicated to Slayer, the thrashiest of the Big Four thrash metal bands. Today's topic is the late, great Jeff Hanneman. Hanneman passed away, very unexpectedly, ten years ago this week: May 2, 2013. Hanneman was Slayer's co-lead guitarist, its best lyricist, its second-best singer, probably its second-best percussionist, and — by all accounts — its heart and soul. This episode takes a look at how he generally affected the band's career, art, and trajectory. Next week, we'll look at the intensely private shredder's life and personality. After some introductory episodes, Talkin' Slayer tells the story of the Los Angeles heavy metal institution, in chronological order: how the band happened, when things fell apart, how they put it back together, and what it all meant — no, MEANS. After Episode Six, Patreon supporters receive every weekly episode. Free listeners get every other episode, every other week. Learn more at Patreon.com/dxferris . Every week, your pal Ferris presents another chapter — sometimes two or three — in the history of Slayer, from the groundbreaking group's pre-history in Chile to their hazy, fractured, mysterious breakup in 2019. Slayer was the first Big Four band to break up. Why? Well, it's a long story... The Talkin' Slayer podcast program show is written, deeply researched, lightly edited, and mostly rehearsed, with some production value. This is an all-killer-no-filler podcast: The episode proper begins after roughly 60 seconds of introduction, tops. No need to skip the first 15 minutes. The music changes every week. Ferris is an award-winning writer. He has worked for Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, The AV Club, and Decibel magazine. He is a fan. He has opinions. He is the author of something like nine books, depending how you count them. Two are about Slayer. The first one is an entire book about the classic  thrash album Reign in Blood, which is part of the fairly prestigious 33 1/3 book series. His bigger Slayer book, though, is the 2023 update of the full-on band biography "Slayer 66 & 2/3: A Metal Band Biography, POSTMORTEM Edition." (This is the third Edition; it was previously known as "Slayer 66 & 2/3: The Jeff and Dave Years...."). And that book is mostly what he'll be talking about when we're talkin' Slayer. Thank you for listening. Learn more at... Patreon.com/dxferris Instagram.com/SlayerBooks Twitter.com/SlayerBook Facebook.com/SlayerBook