Turns out Jelly Roll drummer Cody Ash can absolutely shred a Slayer song on drums, even if he's never heard it before. Ash was the latest victim of Drumeo's series where they make a drummer learn a song they've never heard before, this time making Ash tackle Slayer's 1990 classic "Seasons In The Abyss".
It's a tall order for anyone, let alone someone stepping in cold without a single listen beforehand. While Ash's take wasn't a note-for-note recreation of Dave Lombardo's original ferocious performance, he still brought the heat. With precision, stamina, and some personal flair, he powered through the song like a seasoned thrasher.
Reflecting on the challenge, Ash admitted, "I hope, you know, I know I didn't play directly to the original, but I hope everyone watching this enjoyed maybe my take on it." Judging by the energy and enthusiasm in the performance, it's safe to say many will. I sure as hell did.
Which is especially funny, considering right up top Ash said: "Oh, I'm about to piss so many people in the metal world off. I'm going to play this so wrong." Nah, dude crushed it! Personally, I'm looking forward to Jelly Roll busting out his own "Seasons In The Abyss" cover live, which I've just decided right now is happening. Good luck.
"Seasons In The Abyss" was also Slayer's first-ever music video back in 1990, which they shot in Egypt. When Slayer shot it, war was literally on the horizon. "It was right before the first Bush attack on Iraq," Tom Araya said during a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone. "You notice how I used the word 'attack'? It was the first 'war ensemble.'"
Araya also noted that while the experience was largely positive, he did get robbed during the shoot. An extra on a horse asked Araya if he wanted to ride and once he was on, led him away and asked him for cash. "I'm just thinking, 'Fuck, I don't have any money, man; I'm wearing leather pants.' They wouldn't take me back unless I gave them something. Eventually they realized we didn't have any money and brought us back. A dollar bill is like a thousand dollars there, and they just wanted something. That was the last time I did anything with the extras.
"But they were all cool.They had a little tent set up for us where we could keep warm. And they offered us food, but, you know, we were dumb Americans and didn't appreciate cuisines from another part of the world. So we'd sit there and snack on stuff we thought was edible."
