The coroner’s report has revealed some new information about the death of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman. Namely, it wasn’t the flesh-eating disease he got from a spider bite a couple years back that killed him. It was alcohol-related liver cirrhosis. Hannemann’s bandmates confimed this on the slayer website, in a statement that reads: “We've just learned that the official cause of Jeff's death was alcohol related cirrhosis. 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.”

It added: “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.”

Unfortunately, he never got to see that record started. Fans of the band and of Hanneman have flocked to Slayer’s website and to social networks to express their condolences. Hannemann’s bandmates also shared some of their memories of Slayer’s founder on their website.Fellow guitarist Kerry King said: “When we first formed Slayer, we used to rehearse all the time, religiously, 24/7. Jeff and I spent a lot of time hanging out together, he lived in my father's garage which was also our rehearsal space.” Bassist Tom Araya called Hanneman “a lifeline of Slayer” adding “he wrote so many of the songs that the band will always be known for. He had a good heart, he was a good guy."

Slayer, Sonisphere Festival
Slayer, performing at Sonisphere Festival without Hannemann.