Hanneman’s death follows a long ordeal brought on by a spider bite. In open letter posted on the Slayer site just yesterday, the band shared with fans some details of Hanneman’s struggle. “It’s been about a year since he got out of the hospital, and since then, he had to learn to walk again, he’s had several painful skin grafts, he’s been in rehab doing exercises to regain the strength in his arm,” the statement read. The letter also noted that while Hanneman had been hoping to rejoin the band full-time, he had recently told them that “he needs to take more time to continue his rehab.”
