The Working Stiff Show

Slayer guitarist dead at 49

Slayer announced on Thursday (May 2nd) that founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman passed away at around 11:00 a.m. that day at the age of 49 near his Southern California home. A statement from the band said, “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.”

Hanneman had actually not been playing with the band for more than two years since he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard in January 2011. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman’s arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY2hMgZ_Ocg

  • Hanneman’s last appearance with Slayer was in April 2011, when he played an encore with the band at the Big Four concert in Indio, California.
  • It is not clear whether the cause of his death was linked to his struggle with the flesh-eating infection.
  • Hanneman recalled in a 2011 interview with Classic Rock magazine that he initially didn’t even feel the spider bite, adding, “But an hour later, I knew that I was ill. I could see the flesh corrupting. The arm was real hot. I got to the emergency room, and thank god the nurse knew straight away what it was . . . At that point, I was an hour away from death.”
  • Slayer was founded in 1981 in Los Angeles and went on to become one of most popular bands of the speed/thrash metal movement, eventually being considered one of the “Big Four” alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax.
  • While never a band that got any substantial radio airplay, the group has long been considered a major influence on the metal genre and acclaimed as one of the best live metal acts of the past 30 years.

FAST FACTS

  • Slayer was founded in 1981 by guitarist Kerry King and drummer Dave Lombardo, with Hanneman and frontman Tom Araya joining later.
  • The group started out playing Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Deep Purple covers around Southern California before writing original material.
  • Slayer signed to Metal Blade Records in 1983 and released its debut disc, Show No Mercy, in December of that year.
  • In 1986, they became the first rock act to sign to Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin‘s Def Jam Records, primarily a hip-hop label. The band’s first effort for the label, Reign In Blood, is still widely considered the greatest thrash metal album of all time and was Slayer’s first gold album.
  • The band has released a total of 11 studio albums

Recent Headlines

2 hours ago in Entertainment, Trending

Bad Bunny kicks off ‘SNL’ 51st season with a group of new faces and jabs at his Super Bowl critics

Bad Bunny kicked off the 51st season of "Saturday Night Live" with a few timely jokes about his next high-profile gig: the Super Bowl.

3 days ago in National, Trending

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is sentenced to over 4 years in prison

Sean 'Diddy' Combs was sentenced Friday to 4 years and 2 months in prison in case involving sex workers, violence and "freak-offs."

3 days ago in National, Trending

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is set to be sentenced and faces the possibility of years in prison

Sean "Diddy" Combs faces sentencing Friday in a sordid criminal case that could keep him locked up for years.

3 days ago in Entertainment, Music

Decoding Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life a Showgirl’: A guide to her references

For Taylor Swift's most dedicated audience, a new album means new opportunities to decode Easter eggs in her lyrics and music videos. The pop superstar's 12th studio album has no shortage of clever clues and references to her public life and discography.

4 days ago in National, Trending

Trump uses government shutdown to dole out firings and punishment

President Donald Trump has seized on the government shutdown as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce and punish detractors, by threatening mass firings of workers and suggesting "irreversible" cuts to programs important to Democrats.

4 days ago in National, Trending

Delta jets have a ‘low-speed collision’ on LaGuardia taxiway, injuring 1

Two Delta Air Lines regional jets collided on the taxiway at LaGuardia Airport in New York, injuring a flight attendant, damaging a cockpit and tearing off part of a wing in what the airline described as a "low-speed collision."

4 days ago in Lifestyle, Trending

Gatorade and Cheetos are among the Pepsi products getting a natural dye makeover

PepsiCo, which also makes Doritos, Cap'n Crunch cereal, Funyuns and Mountain Dew, announced in April that it would accelerate a planned shift to using natural colors in its foods and beverages.