SLAYER GUITARIST
Dies of liver failure aged
49
(January 31st,
1964 - May 2nd, 2013)
It is with true sadness that we report the passing of Jeff Hanneman, one of the greatest metal
guitarists in the world. Jeff Hanneman was the guitarist and founding
member of the trash-metal band Slayer with
Kerry King, Dave Lombardo and Tom Araya starting in 1981. Hanneman was the composer of “Angel
of Death”, “Raining Blood”, “Seasons
In The Abyss”, “War Ensemble” and so many other Slayer classics.
The metal musician had been recovering from flesh-eating disease
necrotizing fasciitis, contracted from a spider bite in 2011. The disease
forced him to take time away from Slayer, and only joining the band on stage at
the “Big 4” performance in May 2011.
Jeff Hanneman passed away at about 11:00 am on Thursday, May 2, 2013 morning near his
Southern California home. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered
liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his
brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.
Slayer members had informed fans about Jeff’s health condition in an open letter
posted on the band’s official website:
“Slayer fans everywhere –
it’s time to let you know what is going on with our brother Jeff Hanneman. As
you know, Jeff was bitten by a spider more than a year ago, but what you may
not have known was that for a couple of days after he went to the ER, things
were touch-and-go. There was talk that he might have to have his arm amputated,
and we didn’t know if he was going to pull through at all. He was in a
medically-induced coma for a few days and had several operations to remove the
dead and dying tissue from his arm. So, understand, he was in really, really
bad shape. It’s been about a year since he got out of the hospital, and since
then, he had to learn to walk again, he’s had several painful skin grafts, he’s
been in rehab doing exercises to regain the strength in his arm; but best of
all, he’s been playing guitar. We were all excited when he joined us onstage
for the encore a year ago at The Big Four show at Coachella. Since then, we’ve
given him all the time and support he’s needed to continue his rehab so he can
come back to the band fully recovered and able to deliver the kind of shows we
all want him to. While Jeff’s been doing some writing and has been coming to
rehearsal over the past several weeks, he has decided he needs to take more
time to continue his rehab. While we want him back onstage with the band, all
of us support his decision. So, we’re very grateful that Gary Holt will
continue to fill in for Jeff, and will tour with us until Jeff completes his
rehab and is ready to return. How long will that be? The best and most honest
answer we can give you is ‘as long as it takes.’ We also wanted you to know
that we’ve been doing some writing and recording for the next Slayer album –
we’ve tracked a few songs, and will finish the album when we’re off the road
later this year. Gary will join us on tour in Europe and the UK in May and
June, and then we’ll all see you on this Summer’s Mayhem Festival”.
This blog sends respects, condolences, and prayers to the family, friends of Jeff Hanneman, and his brothers in Slayer.
R.I.P Jeff Hanneman. You will never be forgotten. You’ll be greatly
missed by so many metal-heads around the globe. Rest easy man.
