Died On This Date (May 2, 2013) Jeff Hanneman/ Founding Guitarist For Slayer
themusicsover 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.
What You Should Own
Armand Crump was a beloved guitar tech who, over the years worked with such metal acts as Trivium, Shinedown, and most recently, Slayer’s Kerry King with whom he worked for many years. Armand Crump was 35 when he passed away on March 31, 2012. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Denis D’Amour was the guitarist for Canadian thrash metal band, Voivod who were one of the first Canadian thrash bands to gain popularity outside of Canada. They, along with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax were ushered in the thrash metal movement of the mid ’80s. Trained in classical violin, D’Amour later switched to guitar, later adding more of a King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Rush approach to his unique guitar playing. D’Amour was diagnosed with colon cancer in the summer of 2005. Having progressed at an alarming rate, surgery was not an option, so D’Amour died as a result of the cancer on August 26, 2005 at the age of 45.
Chuck Schuldiner was a rock singer, songwriter and guitarist who has been called the “father of death metal” for creating a genre by marrying the best elements of British metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest with those of thrash bands like Slayer and Mercyful Fate. Schuldiner began learning the acoustic guitar before he was ten-year old, but soon grew tired of it, so his parents bought him an electric guitar and amps which he took too with a vengeance. In 1983, he formed his first band, Mantas who eventually morphed into Death, a band that would define the death metal genre, much in the same way 
Gus Chambers is best remembered as the lead singer for metal band, Grip Inc. Formed by ex-Slayer drummer, Dave Lombardo in 1993, the band was originally signed by powerhouse metal label, Metal Blade Records. The band released a handful of critically praised albums during their run. In later years, Chambers performed with a few other bands, Squad 21, Squealer, and Mantra Sect. Gus Chambers was 50 years old when his lifeless body was found in his home. His cause of death was initially believed to be suicide, but police reports finally ruled he died of an accidental overdose of prescribed medication and alcohol.