The Jeff Hanneman Memorial took place on May 23, 2013 at the Hollywood Palladuim in Hollywood, California. This gathering was open to the public, giving Slayer fans a chance to pay their respects to one of the greats of metal.
 

 
The stage was set-up with all of Jeff Hanneman’s guitars, his baseball shin guards, Marshall stacks and a black box with the remains of the legend.
 

 
Special guest speakers where Brian Slagle (Metal Blade), Kerry King (SLAYER), Roberto Trujillo ( Metallica), Nick Boycott (Ex-Grim Reaper), Chavo (System of a Down) and a few other people from Slayer’s management company. Spotted outside the venue were Chuck Billy (Testament), Gary Holt (Exodus), Dave Navarro (Janes Addiction) and Gene Hologan (Testament).
 

 
It was very cool to hear stories about Jeff Hanneman, especially the one told about how after all the surgeries he had on his arm, he became very insecure about how his arm looked and started to wear long sleeves to cover it up. Then came the Big 4 concert in Indio, California and when Jeff decided he wanted to come out and play the encore with SLAYER… right before he took the stage, he ripped off the sleeve of his shirt and said “fuck it!”… that’s what you see in the iconic photo of Jeff’s last performance with SLAYER, the one sleeve photo.
 

 
Here are a few more photos of the memorial. R.I.P. Jeff

 
Back in 1986 when I was a 14 year old kid, I was a roadie for a friend’s band in the L.A. area and one night while driving to a gig in the equipment van, my good friend Art Rodriguez put on SLAYER’s ‘Reign in Blood’ on the stereo and I will never forget my reaction and my immediate question for Art…. who is that!!!????
 
I was hooked instantly and the next day I went out and bought the album and poured through the words to all the songs. I was amazed by the lyrics and also curious as to who was writing such great songs.
 
JEFF HANNEMAN was the name noted under music and lyrics. He wrote music that no one even thought about writing back in the 80′s and along with Kerry King, had since kept SLAYER relevant in the metal industry for over 30 years.
 
SLAYER has been part of my life since that fateful day in 1986 and I was lucky enough to have seen the band and Jeff play live so many times I lost track.
 
The music Jeff wrote got me through rough times in my life. From 1994 to 1998, I was in prison for drugs and SLAYER music got me through a lot of my down time. I would just sit in my cell tuned to any rock station and just to listen to any Metal and SLAYER. I also remember watching the video for ‘Seasons In The Abyss’ in the day room in Springfield, Missouri on a Saturday night on MTV’s ‘Headbangers Ball’ and couldn’t wait to get out to see SLAYER live again.
 
After being released from jail, a family member working at The Palace (Avalon) in Hollywood, California told me SLAYER was going to be playing there and he asked if I wanted to go? Of course! I told him and he was able to get me and my buddy comp tickets to the sold out show.
 
In January 2011, I was lucky enough to meet Jeff at NAMM and took a photo with him. A month later, it was reported that Jeff had been bitten by a spider and was in a hospital recovering. Then came the ‘Big 4′ concert in Indio, California where Jeff made a two-song special appearance and that was the last time he ever performed with SLAYER
 
I want to send out my condolences to the Hanneman family and just know that Jeff touched a lot of people with his music and his talent. He was one of the best guitar players in metal music and certainly left his mark on the genre. He is a legend and will never be forgotten. R.I.P. Jeff. We will miss you. -Ralph
 

Blabbermouth.net: SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman passed away at about 11 a.m. today (Thursday, May 2) near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.
 
Hanneman — who in January 2011 contracted necrotizing fasciitis, likely caused by a spider bite, and has been undergoing surgeries, skin grafts and intense rehab since — spoke to U.K.’s Classic Rock magazine in the fall of 2011 about his recovery which has seen him sit out an entire two years’ worth of touring with the band.
 
Hanneman was kicking back in a hot tub with a couple of beers when noticed a spider bite him on the arm.
 
“Didn’t even feel it,” he said. “But an hour later, I knew that I was ill.” On his way to the hospital, “I could see the flesh corrupting,” he recalled. “The arm was real hot. I got to the emergency room, and thank god the nurse knew straight away what it was. By chance, although it’s pretty rare, she had seen a case a little while before. At that point, I was an hour away from death.”
 
Although the spider bite itself was not serious, it had caused bacterial infection in the deeper layers of the skin and tissues of the arm.
 
“Unbelievably, the doctor was a SLAYER fan,” said Hanneman, “First thing he said to me was: ‘First I am going to save your life. Then I am going to save your arm. Then I am going to save your career.’”
 
Hanneman underwent emergency surgery to remove the dead and dying tissue. The doctor was able to save the muscles and the tendons, but the guitarist had a large open wound on his arm. He spent the next two months in hospital, having extensive skin grafts and heavy doses of antibiotics to suppress the infection.
 
“I had to learn to walk again,” Hanneman said: “I hadn’t stood up for a month, apart from anything else. The skin grafts were very painful and all the muscles and tendons in the arm where very weak. That was OK, though. I count myself lucky that the nurse and doctor knew right away what had happened to me, because things could have been a whole lot worse.”
 
At the April 2011 “Big Four” concert in Indio, California, Hanneman joined SLAYER onstage for a two-song encore, but he hasn’t yet been able to tour again. Read More