A coroner has confirmed that Slayer guitarist, Jeff Hanneman, died of alcohol-related cirrhosis.
The guitarist, and founding member of Slayer, died at the age of 49 last week in a California hospital.
“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 wrote on their website. “Contrary to some reports, Jeff was not on a transplant list at the time of his passing, or at any time prior to that. In fact, by all accounts, it appeared that he had been improving…he was excited and looking forward to working on a new record.”
The band also shared their memories of Hanneman, with guitarist Kerry King writing: “I had so many great times with Jeff. In the early days when we were out on the road, he and I were the night owls, we would stay up all night on the bus, just hanging out, talking, watching movies…World War II movies, horror movies, we watched ‘Full Metal Jacket’ so many times, we could practically recite all of the dialogue.”
Meanwhile, stars from the world of rock and metal, including Slash and Dave Mustaine, have paid tribute to Hanneman following his death.
Posting his tribute on Twitter, Slash wrote: “Tragic & shocking news about Jeff Hanneman. He is going to be missed by so many. What a sad day for Metal. RIP man.”
by Wallace McTavish
