R.I.P Good Shredder Guy...

R.I.P Jeff Hanneman

Grammy-winning guitarist Jeff Hanneman, a founding member of the heavy metal band Slayer, died Thursday May 2 2013, of liver failure in Southern California, the band said in a statement.

He was 49.

The guitarist was with Slayer from its founding in 1981. Its breakthrough came five years later with the release of "Reign in Blood," an album that included two songs -- "Angel of Death" and "Raining Blood" -- co-written by Hanneman.

That was one of 10 studio albums that the band put out over three decades together, during which they performed thousands of shows.

On Slayer's official website, Hanneman said that the last one -- "World Painted Blood" -- came together quickly because the band's members worked seamlessly.

 

"The interaction between all of us on this record was really something special," he said. "... The chemistry was just good."

In 2006 and 2007, Slayer won Grammy awards for best metal performance.

The metal world -- in tweets from, among many others, the bands Rancid, Hatebreed, In Flames and Testament -- reacted to Hanneman's death with sadness and appreciation, referring to him as a "true heavy metal legend" and a "brother in thrash."

"One of the best shredders ever to walk Earth. RIP, good sir."

Sources.