Jeff Hanneman
January 31, 1964 – May 2, 2013
Jeff Hanneman was a founding guitarist for influential thrash metal band, Slayer. Formed in Los Angeles in 1981, the band quickly broke through and went on to sell upwards of 20 million albums. Slayer’s impact on thrash is such that the band, along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth are simply referred to as The Big Four. Born in Oakland, California, Hanneman eventually settled in Southern California where he initially took a shine to punk rock. By the early ’80s, Heanneman was taking note of metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, so when he ultimately joined forces with Kerry King to form Slayer, he helped introduce the fast aggression of punk to metal. Jeff Hanneman was 48 when he died of liver failure at a hospital near his home.
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