He's been gone for almost a month now, but I wanted to note his passing here, since Slayer was the first metal concert I attended. It was at the Phantasy Theater in Lakewood OH, during their tour supporting "South Of Heaven" and it was likely the summer of 1988, between my freshman and sophomore years at the U. of Akron.

My roommate during my freshman year, Sean, was a super-smart ROTC guy who played bass guitar and was into thrash in a serious way. Up until then my exposure to metal was limited to Möthey Crüe and the occasional Judas Priest tune. What Sean brought was a huge collection of terrify-your-parents vinyl, not just the standard "Big Four" stuff but also Venom, Deicide and Kreator, Nuclear Assault, Overkill; venerable stuff like Priest and Iron Maiden and Diamondhead; German metal imports on white vinyl and hand painted covers; and just a ton of records by obscure bands you've never heard of and probably never will. But of all of them, Slayer occupied the throne.

At the time, Slayer was at he height of their power, having released their watershed "Reign In Blood" prior to this tour, and Slayer fans everywhere were going LOSING THEIR MINDS. I'd been to shows with mosh pits before, but watching this one from the balcony above the fray, I decided early there was no way I'd be going down there, and Sean and I were content to sit at the railing and air-guitar along to every riff.

So RIP Jeff, and I hope you're shredding with Dimebag up in heaven. Or, you know, the other place, whichever you prefer.