LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Guitarist Jeff Hanneman of the seminal heavy metal band Slayer died of alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver, and not as a result of a flesh-eating bacteria, the remaining members of the U.S. band said.
The band issued the statement on Thursday clarifying the cause of Hanneman’s death following speculation that necrotizing fasciitis, a rare flesh-eating infection he believed he had contracted in 2011 through a spider bite, contributed to the “Raining Blood” guitarist’s death.
“While he had his health struggles over the years, including the recent necrotizing fasciitis infection that devastated his well-being, Jeff and those close to him were not aware of the true extent of his liver condition until the last days of his life,” the band said in a statement posted on its website.
Hanneman wrote many of the best known songs, including “Angel of Death” on Slayer’s landmark 1986 album “Reign of Blood.”
https://www.slayer.net/us/jeff-hanneman
