News•February 13, 2011 5:04 PM ET•10,462 views

Slayer guitarist sidelined with infection

Official press release: Jeff Hanneman, guitarist and founding member of Slayer, was hospitalized late last month where he underwent emergency surgery on his right arm after contracting a serious infection, according to his bandmates Kerry King, Tom Araya, and Dave Lombardo. Although Hanneman's doctors were not able to definitively identify the infection's origin, they diagnosed necrotizing fasciitis, and indicated it likely was rooted in a spider bite. The guitarist is now recuperating at home, has already begun the process of subsequent medical procedures including skin grafts, and is expected to make a full recovery. In light of this situation and Slayer's upcoming participation in the Australian Soundwave Festival tour that is set to kick off on February 26, the band has decided to play the dates without Hanneman and will bring on a guest guitarist to fill in for him until such time as he has fully recuperated and is ready to return to the lineup. The band intends to announce details about the guest guitarist shortly. "Jeff is our brother, we've all been friends and together as a band for almost 30 years," Araya said in a statement, "so we just want him to recover as soon as possible." "After everything that happened last year," King added, "we all agreed that we just can't let our fans down again," referring to Araya's severe back and neck pain that prompted his January 2010 surgery, unfortunately leading to the band's postponement or cancellation of numerous shows in 2009 and 2010. "Jeff is totally on board with this decision, so we will tour as planned. At this point, we can't pinpoint exactly what day he'll be back, but he'll be back as soon as he possibly can. And we can't wait for Jeff to get better and get his ass back on the road."

29 comments

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destroyerofpoon 2/13/2011 2:06:01 PM

Full blown chaos is not stoked.

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fukuimdrunk 2/13/2011 2:11:01 PM

Slayer should have a disabled list.

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sgd54 2/13/2011 2:20:50 PM

I was just relating to the Slayer guitar player the other day, and how there is a reason he was banned from guitar compitions in texas(always winning)-

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jca 2/13/2011 2:29:02 PM

new slayer album out 2011 titled "necrotizing fasciitis"

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scumington 2/13/2011 2:29:53 PM

spider bite flip

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DUMP_UM 2/13/2011 2:31:16 PM

Satan is not stoked.

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conduit 2/13/2011 3:02:41 PM

they need to get that dude from the acacia strain who was bitten by a spider because he can totally relate to what the band must be going through. he'd probably only be able to play 6% of the riffs though

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DaveClinch 2/13/2011 3:08:20 PM

"After not making any money last year on touring," King added, "we all agreed that we just can't let our Wives down again."

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MuseumOfScienceHistory 2/13/2011 3:17:37 PM

was it an... ANTHRAX INFECTION??? HAHAHAHHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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metaljohn 2/13/2011 3:32:46 PM

The guitarist is now recuperating at home, has already begun the process of subsequent medical procedures including dead skin masks, and is expected to make a full recovery.

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danofthedead 2/13/2011 4:15:34 PM

This is way more metal than throwing your back out.

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warnerve 2/13/2011 4:45:48 PM

yes. this has metal written all over it.

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decrepit 2/13/2011 5:34:25 PM

"fck spiders"

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stooooopid 2/13/2011 5:40:03 PM

SLAAAAAAYERRRRRRR!!!!!! SLLAAAAAAAYYYYYERRRRRRR!!!!

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JohnnyJohnny 2/13/2011 5:45:25 PM

They'll probably sound tighter with a fill in. Hanneman has been a mess for years now (live at least). Crappy news eitherway though.

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54321 2/13/2011 6:04:01 PM

prayers sent jeff's way for a speedy recovery

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sticksandstones 2/13/2011 6:14:27 PM

on and on south of heaven.

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poop 2/13/2011 6:37:03 PM

SPIDER OF DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH

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thepsuedosabotage 2/13/2011 6:38:58 PM

Why couldn't this happen to King instead? King's solos suck major dck On a side note, I wouldnt be suprised if King was a 'goater

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siqbrah 2/13/2011 8:30:12 PM

necrotizing fascitis is about a metal an infection as you can have.

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meatflip 2/13/2011 8:42:13 PM

Bob Larson is stoked. Maybe he'll write another book called-Satanism: The Seduction of America's Youth 2 and talk mad shit about Slayer again.

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BobScerboFanClub 2/13/2011 10:44:45 PM

Incapacitate, fall into your fate Pain results in screams, bleed internally Years will pass before it can be cuuuuuuuuuuuured!

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needssalt 2/14/2011 12:23:09 AM

I would hug him so hard, and then return to my candlelight vigil with anticipation. all hail the shitty solos that define them. Get well fella!

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the_smile_that_kills 2/14/2011 7:27:46 AM

this is why i loath spiders

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RickRock 2/14/2011 10:30:25 AM

"necrotizing fascitis is about a metal an infection as you can have." - LOL yeah. SLAYER!

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BlindBubbaCheeks 2/14/2011 2:44:11 PM

I'm picturing Jeff on stage in a Spiderman Costume....

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godofeternalabyss 2/14/2011 10:23:46 PM

Not stoked, I've seen people die from that. Im glad to hear he's back home for recovery!

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maskake 2/15/2011 10:33:23 AM

OMG D : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrotizing_fasciitis

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blankz 2/16/2011 3:54:12 PM

god's way of telling him to stop playing fcking garabage ass music in slayer

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