Slayer

Stranger Than Fiction Friday: Slayer Guitarist’s Spider Bite

Speed metal band Slayer’s dense, yet intricate arrangements, lyrical themes of death, religion, warfare, and generally raw, badass approach to playing music have earned them a credit of one of the “Big Four” metal acts, a distinction shared with veterans Metallica, Megadeath, and Anthrax. And as The Big 4 are preparing to play a one off show together (April 23 Indio, CA), news comes that an integral part of Slayer will be missing from the act. Founding Slayer guitarist, Jeff Hanneman, has had to back out of the tour, but it is for a pretty rock ‘n’ roll reason: he’s suffering from necrotizing fasciitis. What the heck is that? Well perhaps it is better known by its street name: flesh eating bacteria. It is (thankfully) an extremely rare infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue where the bacteria release toxins, causing death (necrosis) to surrounding tissue. While “flesh eating” may be a misnomer, one can certainly understand the sentiment when, say, they’re trying to write what you’re reading right now. Hanneman’s doctors believe he contracted as a result of a spider bite. Founded in 1981, the two-time Grammy winning band has released 11 studio albums and maintained the same lineup since Day One. Hanneman and other Slayer guitarist Kerry King ranked Number Ten in Guitar World's "100 greatest metal guitarists of all time" in 2004, and were voted "Best Guitarist/Guitar Team" in Revolver's reader's poll. We certainly wish Hanneman a speedy (pun intended) recovery. -Court