Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman is Dead

From Slayer’s official Facebook page, about an hour ago:

Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home. 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.

Our Brother Jeff Hanneman, May He Rest In Peace (1964 – 2013)

And unfortunately that’s all the info we have right now. No information has been released about whether Jeff’s liver failure was related in any way to the horrible spider bite he suffered in 2011, or complications from it. Jeff hadn’t gigged regularly with Slayer since that incident; Exodus’ Gary Holt had been filling in.

Not that it matters. We have just lost one of the most legendary and important metal guitarists of all time. This is absolutely horrible, devastating, earth-shattering news.

Our thoughts go out to Jeff’s bandmates, family, friends and the entire metal community.

With the Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles tonight, a large portion of the metal community will already be gathered together. I expect Revolver will adjust the broadcast accordingly to commemorate the passing of a true legend.

To see what some notable figures in the metal community have to say about Jeff’s passing, visit this link.

Share your thoughts and memories of Jeff in the comments.