SLAYER GUITARIST Jeff Hanneman has passed away. Eternity gains a new shredder.

One of the minds behind songs that had my dong fiercely swinging in tandem with my banging of head throughout my teenage years has passed away. Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman has died due to liver failure, assuredly giving the Devil a rather nasty friend to shred along with. (That’s supposed to be a positive comment, don’t get your knickers in a twist.)

Billboard:

Slayer guitarist and founding member Jeff Hanneman died earlier today of liver failure. He was 49.

“Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11 AM this morning near his Southern California home,” the band’s longtime publicist said in a statement. “Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure.”

Hanneman co-founded the thrash metal greats with Kerry King in 1981; their breakthrough came in 1986 with the brutalist album “Reign in Blood.” Hanneman wrote or co-wrote the set’s standout tracks, “Angel of Death” and “Raining Blood.”