Thrash metal, the uncompromising subgenre of heavy metal which focuses primarily on speed and aggression, was given huge publicity in the 1980s by the California foursome Slayer, whose guitarist Jeff Hanneman has died of liver failure aged 49. Alongside his bandmates, Tom Araya (vocals and bass), Kerry King (guitar) and Dave Lombardo (drums), Hanneman was a striking live performer, delivering his guitar solos in an instantly recognisable wailing and atonal style.