Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dead At 49

[Rancid Carcass]

Damn, this is bad news... Slayer were one of the first bands that got me into metal, guess I owe this guy my entire way of life... *salutes http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/breaki...an-dead-at-49/

[shootemindehead]

Balls

[Morto Vivente]

That's fucking depressing. Amazing guitarist.

[Mike70]

wow. this is sad news. Hanneman was a great songwriter/guitar player. i need more time to process.

[Neil]

And all down to a spider bite years ago?

[Morto Vivente]

And all down to a spider bite years ago? I'm assuming you found it a bit odd as I did. It turns out that he contracted flesh-eating bacteria (Necrotizing Fasciitis) from the bite. Seems the infection has many consequences besides links to liver issues. Possibly it had long term effects on Jeff both physically and psychologically? http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/n...topic-overview

[LouCipherr]

From what I understand, he had been having skin grafts and was being fed antibiotics out the wazoo to fight off the infection for years. That being said, I don't think it was just the spider bite that did him in. Jeff was an extreme drinker (Jagermeister being his drink of choice) and I think between that and the flesh-eating bacteria, it took a few years, but it finally overwhelmed his body. I was never much of a Slayer fan, but I did and still do dig a lot of hard rock and metal music - and I knew and understood the influence Slayer had on many other metal bands. It's a sad day. Y'know what scares me? I'm 42, and now I'm starting to see a lot of my idols and people I'm fans of starting to die off. All this shit (for me) started when Ronnie James Dio died, and now it seems like we're just going to have a cascade of people passing away as time moves on. Getting old sucks.

[Morto Vivente]

Yeah,if Mustaine and Hetfield hadn't cleaned up I'm not so sure they would still be here. Mustaine was technically confirmed dead after on one of his last binges back in the 90's

[Mike70]

I plugged in and treated my entire neighborhood to "South of Heaven" this afternoon. i may not listen to metal much anymore but i was deep, deep into the scene when i was younger. There are some Slayer songs that are really, really fun to play on the guitar. "South of Heaven" has been one of my fav songs to play for over 20 years. Jeff was one of my favorite musicians. even after i lost interest in metal, i never really lost interest in his skill with the guitar and, more importantly, his ability as a songwriter. the guy wrote some of the best, most recognizable riffs in metal. i feel like yet another piece of my youth has gone. I hope that if there is a world beyond this one, if we do go on after our time here, Jeff has found his place there and is at peace - with an ESP or Jackson guitar and a stack behind him. rest easy, Jeff. I miss you already.