MUMBAI: Heavy metal pioneer guitarist and co-founder of  thrash metal band Slayer, Jeff Hanneman, died on 2 May of liver failure at a hospital near his home in Southern California. He was 49.

The band which announced his demise on their website said: "Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. The band said it "is devastated" and called Hanneman their bandmate and brother.

Hanneman had been recovering from a spider bite which had left him with ‘necrotising fasciitis’, a flesh-eating disease which attacks subcutaneous tissue.

Hanneman has been off the road since early 2011, when he contracted necrotizing fasciitis. Exodus' Gary Holt stood in for Hanneman starting in February of 2011, while Pat O'Brien joined the band when Holt returned to Exodus during 2011.

It's not known what role the disease played in Hanneman's liver failure.

Hanneman founded Slayer with fellow guitarist Kerry King in the early 1980s in suburban Los Angeles.

The band was known as one of the ‘big four’ thrash metal groups of the 1980s, along with Anthrax, Megadeth and Metallica. The band, with their contemporaries, were known for their pulverizing tempo, blistering guitar solos and growl to shriek vocals that dwelt on the darker side of personal and social issues.

Hanneman is best known as a writer of the songs ‘Raining Blood’ and ‘Angel of Death’ from their 1986 album ‘Reign of Blood’- considered a landmark of the thrash genre.

Born in Oakland, California, Hanneman became fascinated with wars and military campaigns -- themes he'd bring to Slayer's music -- via his father, a World War II veteran, and brothers who served in Vietnam.

Slayer has released seven more studio albums and two live albums, as well as a pair of EPs. They've sold 4.9 million albums in the SoundScan era (1991-present), with the classics ‘Reign in Blood’ (1986), ‘South of Heaven’ (1988) and ‘Seasons in the Abyss’ (1990) accounting for over 2 million of that tally. Ten of their albums have charted on the Billboard 200, with 2006's ‘Christ Illusion’ being the highest debut at No 5.

Fellow musicians took to Twitter to express their grief. Slash, ex-guitarist with Guns'n'Roses, said: "Tragic & shocking news about Jeff Hanneman. He is going to (be) missed by so many. What a sad day for Metal. RIP man", Andrew WK said "Jeff Hanneman will always be a metal god. A true master, he gave energy and excitement to millions, and will continue to."

Hanneman is survived by his wife, Kathy, and three siblings.