Thread: Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman passes away at age 49

RIP dude. Sucks bigtime.

Bummer. I like that album North, that and Reign in Blood.

Awfully young. RIP

That sucks. My brother is a huge Slayer fan.


George Jones, Kriss Kross guy, and now this.........bad week for musicians. It does happen in 3s.

No way!!!!!!!This is really sad. Slayer has been one of my all time fav bands. I started playing guitar learning Seasons in the Abyss and other songs from that album. He was a pioneer in metal and Slayer can never be the same. RIP Jeff.

81 views, 4 replies, glad i'm not the first one to not be affected by this.

Originally Posted by shank

81 views, 4 replies, glad i'm not the first one to not be affected by this.

Uh, thanks?

Dark day for ex-longhairs everywhere. Seriously sucks. I haven't listened to them in a while but have always been impressed that Slayer has kept it going all these years. I wonder if they'll call it quits or try to find a replacement.

Originally Posted by SoCalImport

Dark day for ex-longhairs everywhere. Seriously sucks. I haven't listened to them in a while but have always been impressed that Slayer has kept it going all these years. I wonder if they'll call it quits or try to find a replacement.

Technically they had already had a guy replacing him in Exodus guitarist Gary Holt. The reason for that was a couple of years ago Hanneman got bit by a spider (probably recluse) and the necrosis started setting in. He was recovering from that before he had an apparent liver failure yesterday.


The band Acid Reign posted this on FB which i felt rings true regarding most metalheads and sums it up well for me.

Acid Reign
The thing about metal is.....

It’s an extreme form of music. Not many people “get it” but those who do it LOVE it. You’ll often hear people say that they “love” music, heavy metal fans don’t just love it, they live it. They trek miles to see bands, cross oceans, fly around the world, it’s more than music it’s a brotherhood. Metal fans can end up being outcasts and ridiculed for their tastes, that just serves to bring the brotherhood closer together.

So in this extended family bands are the patriarchs, they are the ones responsible for bringing us all together. You grow up with them, you share the best of times and their music helps you through the worst of times. You laugh, you cry, you drink, you head bang, you follow their career and you hope to grow old together.

So when a member of a band dies it’s like losing a member of that extended family, like losing a part of your childhood because you grew up together and you were still friends. It feels strange to have such strong emotions and a sense of loss for someone you never knew and never met but you feel it all the same. It’s potent, it reminds of your own mortality. Things don’t feel like they’ll ever be the same. You recall the times you shared, the last time you saw them and you meet up with others who feel the same.

Today the brotherhood lost a family member. One of the good guys. Jeff Hanneman. He is survived by his wife Kathy a sister, two brothers and millions of us world wide who will never forget him.

Howard "H" Smith May 2013

Obviously I'm not a fan, but I saw this today and thought I should share with those that are:

It was weird watching the Golden Gods awards last night and seeing people try to have a good time, yet stay true to the memory of a fallen brother. I have no clue how Kerry King was able to get on stage.

Anyway, Jeff hasnt been able to perform in a few years and we were all hoping he'd get back out there one day. Just another member of the All-Star metal band in the sky. Rest in peace, Jeff.

He is probably jamming out with Dimebag Darrell.

Originally Posted by Army Bronco

He is probably jamming out with Dimebag Darrell.

Of course he is. With Paul Gray on bass and Clive Burr on drums

I was under the assumption that he died from complications of the spider bite.

Originally Posted by weazel

I was under the assumption that he died from complications of the spider bite.

Im not sure there is a definitive report right now. At least that ive seen. Its possible the venom of the spider bite did him in but he was also a notorious drinker for years and that also may have lead to the liver failure. Im sure when the autopsy is done they will give the details of it but from i remember he was staring to recover from the spider bite despite some of the tissue that had been eaten away.