Jeff Hanneman 1/31/1964 - 5/2/2013

[shredhead7]

First I heard he died from a spider bite, then I heard he died of liver complications due to drinking. Wassup?

He was an alcoholic. He was trying to get clean, or maybe was clean and was bit by a spider while sitting in a hot tub. It was completely random, as spider bites are. He didn't think much of it, but over the week that followed, it got worse and infected. This sent him to the hospital, where they weren't able to treat it; the antibiotics weren't working and it worsened. By the time that was over, it had been months and the Dr's told him he would never regain function of his arm to 100%. He tried to fight through it, but it was obvious to the band that he couldn't play. They made the decision to carry on without him. This caused him to spiral back into depression and heavy drinking, which ultimately cost him his life. It was pretty similar tail to Robin Crosby from Ratt, one injury feeds another, which causes more depression, spirals down, dead.

Sad story all because of a random spider bite.

 

[anomaly]

His playing became sloppy later in his career due to an arthritic condition. Before he was stricken with arthritis, he was a much cleaner player. You could hear the difference live over the years. Hell, you could see the difference in his picking technique. As time went on and his condition worsened, he used his entire forearm instead of just his hand to pick fast. Here's a great article on The Man himself. RIP JH http://www.guitarworld.com/tribute-comp ... n?page=0,1

Ya, i guess it must have been tough for him to go thru all that. Shitty deal... I wonder what was the last album he played rhythms on? You know his playing was getting rough even by the early 90's... just listen to his playing on "Decade Of Aggression" he's pretty damn sloppy on some of those more technical riffs and leads...while Kerry King is super tight with his playing.

Jeff was by far the best songwriter in the band though, which I think overshadowed his lack of chops as a player. The bulk of the classic Slayer songs were written by him, and I think the band should just call it a career and retire. Holt's playing does not suit the band at all. His leads do not have the slayer vibe and even his tone is not right for Slayer, probably because of his insisting on using a DSL-100 head instead of a EQ boosted jcm-800 that defines the bands sound.