CANNIBAL CORPSE’S PAT O’BRIEN IS THE NEW TEMPORARY GUITARIST FOR SLAYER

While a press release assures us that Jeff Hanneman “has amazed his doctors with his speedy recovery from an infection thought to have been caused by a spider bite” and “has already been practicing with his guitar,” the Slayer guitarist apparently isn’t quite ready to step back into the fold yet. And Gary Holt, who has been filling in for Hanneman, has to go back to his own band — some group called Exodus. So, y’know, in case the headline didn’t already spoil the suspense… yep, Cannibal Corpse’s Pat O’Brien is the new temporary guitarist for Slayer.

O’Brien is just as strong a pick as Holt, if ya ask me; if Exodus are one of Slayer’s most revered peers, Cannibal Corpse are one of Slayer’s most accomplished disciples (no reference to the song intended). There can be no doubt that there would be no Cannibal Corpse without Slayer, and O’Brien’s style is a perfect fit for the latter band.

So Holt will continue to play with Slayer ’til April 4, and then O’Brien takes over. Here are the remaining announced tour dates with both axe men…

MARCH
28 La Rivera, Madrid, Spain (Gary Holt, guest guitarist)
29 Coliseum, La Coruna, Spain (Gary Holt, guest guitarist)
30 Pavilhao Atlantico, Lisbon, Spain (Gary Holt, guest guitarist)

APRIL
1 St. Jordi Club, Barcelona, Spain (Gary Holt, guest guitarist)
3 Rome Atlantico, Rome, Italy (Gary Holt, guest guitarist)
4 Gran Teatro, Padova, Italy (Gary Holt, guest guitarist)
6 Zagreb Arena, Zagreb, Crotia (Pat O’Brien, guest guitarist)
7 Gasometer, Vienna, Austria (Pat O’Brien, guest guitarist)
8 Arena Budapest, Budapest, Hungary (Pat O’Brien, guest guitarist)
10 Prague O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic (Pat O’Brien, guest guitarist)
11 Lodz Sportshall, Lodz, Poland (Pat O’Brien, guest guitarist)
13 Volkshaus, Zurich, Switzgerland (Pat O’Brien, guest guitarist)
14 Klokgebouw, Eindhoven, Holland (Pat O’Brien, guest guitarist)

-AR