In a recent interview with Full Metal Jackie, Slayer guitarist Gary Holt talked about his approach to playing Jeff Hanneman’s solos.
“Solo-wise, I just kind of usually did my own thing,” Holt explained. “I tried to match him vibe for vibe, but trying to mimic Jeff’s solo style, it’s impossible for me. I’m sure there’s some guys in some tribute bands that do it note for note, but it would have really been fake if I tried to like copy them. So, I did my own thing and no one ever complained about that in the band. Occasionally some fan might not like it.”
Holt joined Slayer in 2011 to temporarily replace Hanneman. Hanneman was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating virus. After Hanneman passed away on May 2, 2013, Holt became a permanent member of the band. He played on Slayer’s 2015 album ‘Repentless’ and toured with the band until the end of their farewell tour in 2018-2019.
Earlier last year, Holt shared Hanneman’s reaction to finding out who would be replacing him in Slayer. “It was at his wake at the Hollywood Palladium that a statement from Katherine, his wife, was read,” he recalled in another interview. “And he was really bummed, apparently, when he found they were going to do it without him. And when he said, ‘Who?’, and they told him [it was] me, his exact words were, ‘F*ck yeah.’ So, it means a lot to me.”
“He’s my old friend. I just wanted to do him proud. We all thought he’d be back,” he added.
Slayer announced their first reunion show for next year. After the comments from the members that they didn’t have any more plans for new shows, the Louder Than Life festival announced that Slayer would perform in 2025.
