Dave Lombardo & Jeff Hanneman of Slayer

From the official Slayer website

We've just learned that the official cause of Jeff's death was alcohol related cirrhosis. While he had his health struggles over the years, including the recent Necrotizing fasciitis infection that devastated his well-being, Jeff and those close to him were not aware of the true extent of his liver condition until the last days of his life. Contrary to some reports, Jeff was not on a transplant list at the time of his passing, or at any time prior to that. In fact, by all accounts, it appeared that he had been improving - he was excited and looking forward to working on a new record.

Both Tom and Kerry have dropped off eulogies at the Slayer site, and now estranged member Dave Lombardo has done so on his Facebook:

"Jeff was the guy that shaved his head and shared the music he was so inspired by. I enjoyed DEAD KENNEDYS, CIRCLE JERKS, BLACK FLAG and THE GERMS with him.

"My drumming was getting faster and Jeff was writing original songs with a punk attitude.

"The fusion of heavy metal and punk took over SLAYER's early mediocre style, hence a new force was born.

"Thank you, Jeff, for your inspiring discovery of punk rock that has continued to shape my personal drumming style."

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Founding member of Slayer, guitarist, and metal legend Jeff Hanneman died at 11AM PDT of liver failure at the age of 49, according to a report on Billboard.

Hannemann formed one of the greatest metal bands of all time, Slayer, in 1981, taking them to the top of the metal world and creating bonafide classics like Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, Seasons in the Abyss and more in the process. Thirty years later, Hannemann was forced to leave behind the band he loved after contracting necrotizing fasciitis in early 2011. Exodus guitarist Gary Holt sat in his stead in the time since.

Jeff Hanneman and Slayer are 100% responsible for creating some of the most important records of all time. I am personally saddened by the news. Rest in Peace.

Continue reading "Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, RIP"

by BBG

Hanneman on stage with Slayer at Nassau Coliseum (more by Matthew Eisman)

Slayer wrote:

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.