The surviving members of the metal band Slayer said that the guitarist Jeff Hanneman had died of alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver, not from an infection of flesh-eating bacteria.
When Mr. Hanneman died last week at a hospital in Hemet, Calif., there were unconfirmed reports that his death had something to do with a horrific case of flesh-eating bacteria that developed in his right arm in 2011 after he was bitten by a spider. The surgery to stop the infection - necrotizing fasciitis - had nearly cost him his arm, threatening his livelihood.
That seemed to some fans an appropriately ghoulish death at age 49 for a man who wrote songs about torture, Nazi concentration camps, terrorist acts and the horrors of war.
But it was not true. The band posted a notice on its Web site on Thursday that said Mr. Hanneman's liver had given out because of drinking.
“We've just learned that the official cause of Jeff's death was alcohol-related cirrhosis,†the posting said. “While he had his health struggles over the years, including the recent necrotizing fasciitis infection that devastated his well-being, Jeff and those close to him were not aware of the true extent of his liver condition until the last days of his life.â€
The remaining band members - the frontman and bassist Tom Araya, the guitarist Kerry King and the drummer Dave Lombardo - also said they planned a public celebration of Mr. Hanneman's life later this month, though they gave no details.
