Slayer to tour without Jeff Hanneman

Mon, 21 Feb 2011

Slayer have announced they will hit the road without their guitarist Jeff Hanneman whilst he recovers from a flesh-eating disease.

The guitarist recently contracted necrotizing fasciitis, which is believed to have been caught from a spider bite and is a rare disease that destroys skin, fat and tissue from below the surface of the body.  He will undergo surgery on his right arm and will have to recover before being able to get back on tour.

Rather than cancel their upcoming summer tour commitments, the band have confirmed they will go ahead with their appearances, "After everything that’s happened we all agreed that we just can’t let our fans down again." Says the bands other guitarist, Kerry King before continuing, "Jeff is totally on board with the decision, so we will tour as planned. We can’t pinpoint what day he’ll be back, but it will be as soon as he possibly can. We can’t wait for him to get better and get his ass back on the road."

The band will be taking Gary Holt, from San Francisco based metal band Exodus on the road with them for the duration of their Australian tour and until Jeff Hanneman is ready to get back on stage.