<p> U.S. guitarist Jeff Hanneman, a co-founder of the seminal heavy metal band Slayer, died in Southern California on Thursday, the band said in a statement posted on their website. He was 49.</p>.<p>"Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure," the band said.</p>.<p>Hanneman founded Slayer with fellow guitarist Kerry King in the early 1980s in suburban Los Angeles.</p>.<p>The band was known as one of the "big four" thrash metal groups of the 1980s, along with Anthrax, Megadeth and Metallica.</p>.<p>The thrash metal genre was distinct for its extremely fast tempo, big double-bass drums and dark themes, often dealing with Satanism, war and serial killers.</p>.<p>Music website Allmusic.com said the band's trademark "full-throttle velocity, wildly chaotic guitar solos, and powerful musical chops paint an effectively chilling sonic background for their obsessive chronicling of the dark side."</p>.<p>Hanneman is best known as a writer of the songs "Raining Blood" and "Angel of Death" from the 1986 album "Reign of Blood," which is considered a landmark of the genre.</p>.<p>Hanneman is survived by his wife and three siblings. </p>
<p> U.S. guitarist Jeff Hanneman, a co-founder of the seminal heavy metal band Slayer, died in Southern California on Thursday, the band said in a statement posted on their website. He was 49.</p>.<p>"Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure," the band said.</p>.<p>Hanneman founded Slayer with fellow guitarist Kerry King in the early 1980s in suburban Los Angeles.</p>.<p>The band was known as one of the "big four" thrash metal groups of the 1980s, along with Anthrax, Megadeth and Metallica.</p>.<p>The thrash metal genre was distinct for its extremely fast tempo, big double-bass drums and dark themes, often dealing with Satanism, war and serial killers.</p>.<p>Music website Allmusic.com said the band's trademark "full-throttle velocity, wildly chaotic guitar solos, and powerful musical chops paint an effectively chilling sonic background for their obsessive chronicling of the dark side."</p>.<p>Hanneman is best known as a writer of the songs "Raining Blood" and "Angel of Death" from the 1986 album "Reign of Blood," which is considered a landmark of the genre.</p>.<p>Hanneman is survived by his wife and three siblings. </p>