On May 2nd, 2013, the metal world was gathering for the Revolver Golden Gods Awards when some shocking news broke. Longtime Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman had died. Eventually, it was revealed that he died of an alcohol related cirrhosis.
It was truly a shocking moment for us and everybody we talked to on the black carpet at the Golden Gods that day. Everybody, from Metallica to Anthrax to Phil Anselmo had nothing but great things to say about Jeff:
Jeff Hanneman was one of a kind, never really into doing interviews or press or anything but show up and play some heavy metal. We briefly had a moment with Jeff in 2010 when he walked the black carpet of the Golden Gods with his Slayer bandmates, and even then, he would've rather been at home watching football.
Jeff leaves behind a legacy of writing some of the heaviest, and most memorable riffs in heavy metal history. No matter their sound, every band that came out after Slayer were in some way influenced by his songwriting, and today, Jeff, we salute you!
Slayer are concluding their run of touring this summer with a slew of "final" North American tour dates. We are giving away a pair of tickets for each stop of the tour. Enter to win here.
