Jeff Hanneman has died....... \m/

That's terrible. I was just GAS-ing over his ESP/LTD signature guitars and wondering when he would get over the spider bite he suffered from. Jeff contributed so much to the new bands that are coming out today from the wildly popular djent sound.

The cause of death says liver failure. That is so sad, and did he die of alcoholism? I am in band that has member near death under same circumstances with alcohol and his liver or heart, or both will fail unless he seeks help. As to his spider bite last year, I heard he was out of the woods a long time ago and was starting to play again and am not sure if that contributed to liver failure.

rhett7660 said:

We both share the same questions... I have a feeling the spider bite put it over the edge. He probably drank and with the bite putting him under like it did. May have been to much.

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The other members complained a lot about Jeff's drinking, and demon alcohol took its toll on Hetfield in Metallica and Mustaine of both Metallica and Megadeth. To me it's such a shame when something like that interferes. It appears Slayer was ready for Hannemann some time back but were also pretty weary and fed up with his drinking. They seemed to be pretty solid with Holt on guitar.

If it is established that alcohol played a role, I hope drinkers out there who abuse alcohol yet love Slayer will get a wake up call when the key member is taken away. This whole thing really sucks. Ironically one guy who was sharing our studio was Holt's former bandmate from Exodus when he died from his excessive lifestyle. If it's alcohol that did it, I don't want fans to sugar coat the whole life of Jeff but look at all the good and bad and realize he was a creative human being who had a disease that may or may not have killed him (but certainly would have if he didn't seek help for it).

http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/...Alcohol-And-Not-The-Spider-Bite-#.UYMSOYIZw-U

Really bad news....sucks he died so young. I'm not sure if alcohol was involved or not, I'm thinking all the surgies and medication took its toll, he almost did have to have his arm amputated after all. None of us will know until there's an official statement I suppose. Hanneman was a key writer in Slayer's music, I hope their music is still as good as its been throughout all these years.

As a side note, I've only seen Slayer live twice..once was at the Big 4 in Indio, CA which happened shortly after he had surgery so Gary Holt was filling in. However, Jeff came out and played Angel of Death with the band. Incredible! Only time I've seen Jeff perform live. The other time it was Gary Holt filling in the entire time.

I think Gary Holt will be a good pertinent replacement, if he's up for it...

I first saw Slayer at Newcastle City Hall in 1987 (on Good Friday!!), the first night of the Reign in Pain tour. I was absolutely blown away by how well Hanneman and King played together. I have no idea whether they were good musicians or not, but for me they were the most powerful combination of guitarists I have ever heard, and listening to their live stuff still sends shivers down my spine. With Lombardo and Araya leaving the band recently it's obviously never going to be the same, but I'll always remember Good Friday 1987.

RIP Jeff.

I'll miss him, while I did lose track of Slayer after Seasons in the Abyss, they always one of the big parts of metal history to me.

Slayer meant the world to me

from 1983 - 1987. Saw the band 5x in that period and met them twice. Jeff was the nicest of the four: always funny, very outgoing and drunk.

I personally think it's a combination of the necrosis he suffered from the spider bite, the surgeries and excessive drinking, but whatever the case, my condolences to his family, bandmates and friends.

He was a great guitarist and songwriter. I was watching a few clips in awe of his hand control and speed...

I was really gutted last night because I realized just how much Slayer's music helped me cope through the roughest part of my teenaged years without drink or drugs. They were my go-to band for almost five years and I will always be grateful their music helped me. Not to mention how much fun it was listen to.

\m/

Mike Oxard said:

I first saw Slayer at Newcastle City Hall in 1987 (on Good Friday!!), the first night of the Reign in Pain tour. I was absolutely blown away by how well Hanneman and King played together. I have no idea whether they were good musicians or not, but for me they were the most powerful combination of guitarists I have ever heard, and listening to their live stuff still sends shivers down my spine. With Lombardo and Araya leaving the band recently it's obviously never going to be the same, but I'll always remember Good Friday 1987.

RIP Jeff.

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Tom Araya isn't leaving Slayer (at least, I'm 99.9% sure). If you google "Tom araya leaving slayer" you'll notice all the articles are posted on April 1st which is April fools day (a day for FOOLS if you ask me).

palmerc2 said:

Tom Araya isn't leaving Slayer (at least, I'm 99.9% sure). If you google "Tom araya leaving slayer" you'll notice all the articles are posted on April 1st which is April fools day (a day for FOOLS if you ask me).

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The demand for them is too high and they will most likely go with Holt who will probably continue to lead Exodus. But if he leaves Exodus, wouldn't that be ironic with Kirk Hammett having left them to join Metallica. Exodus could be the defacto minor league team for the majors with Joe Satriani having been just about everyone's mentor.

49, If anybody thinks the music business is easy, then this is a prime example. RIP Jeff.

63dot said:

The demand for them is too high and they will most likely go with Holt who will probably continue to lead Exodus. But if he leaves Exodus, wouldn't that be ironic with Kirk Hammett having left them to join Metallica. Exodus could be the defacto minor league team for the majors with Joe Satriani having been just about everyone's mentor.

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I would've loved to have been mentored by Joe Satriani
I feel like my playing would be better.

palmerc2 said:

I would've loved to have been mentored by Joe Satriani
I feel like my playing would be better.

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Those heavyweights, when available, can change a life. My guitarist, when I was singer, never seemed to get better after many years but he also did drums as a hobby, but wasn't good at all. Then he got Megadeth's drummer to teach him and in a very short period of time, he was amazing. His guitar playing has still stood still but his drumming sprouted wings and I attribute that to a good mentor.