The news of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman's death weighed heavy on the minds of many of the rockers attending Thursday night's Revolver Golden Gods ceremony, with many of the musicians just learning the tragic news as they were arriving for the show that night. Loudwire spoke with a number of the top rockers on the Revolver Golden Gods Black Carpet about Hanneman's life, legacy and what Slayer, in general, has meant to the metal community.

Phil Anselmo, on hand to perform at the Golden Gods ceremony with Anthrax, acknowledged that honoring Hanneman was something he expected to see throughout the evening. The Pantera and Down vocalist stated, "Something that's very very heavy on our minds and in our hearts is the loss of Jeff Hanneman. I think we should expect something to be done in his honor. I love Jeff Hanneman and Slayer is one of my favorite bands in the history of bands and it's a great loss. I'm sad." Anselmo later performed a portion of 'Raining Blood' with Anthrax at the ceremony.

Testament guitar great Alex Skolnick, who came up through the ranks with Slayer in the '80s, spoke to the heart of who Hanneman was as a person. He told us, "Jeff wrote some of the best riffs of all-time. He was someone who carried himself not like he was a big star. He was a really down to earth guy. A lot of us claim to be that, but not all of us are as down to earth as we claim to be. But he was just that guy. He liked his beer and sports, but he just happened to write great riffs. The timing is surreal, cause this is such a fun event, and I know everyone feels a little conflicted about how much fun to have, but he was a fun-loving guy and I think he would want us to have fun."

Stone Sour's Corey Taylor, donning a well-worn Slayer t-shirt in Hanneman's honor, stated, "I think he's one of the most underrated writers and underrated players that ever was. He was responsible for a lot of the classic Slayer songs and a lot of the classic Slayer sound. And there's a huge hole in heavy metal without him, so it's really sad."

Korn guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer stated that he was still in shock about Hanneman's death and felt that it wouldn’t truly set in until the night's events were complete. He added, "I'm still in shock and probably tonight without all the chaos around, I'll be able to meditate on it and really say a prayer for his family. It's on everybody's mind, but I don't think it's had time to sink into everyone's heart yet. When everyone gets home tonight and has a chance to say a prayer for his family, that's when it'll hit. I don't have words. I'm blown away."

Below are some of the other comments that came from the artists on the black carpet mourning the death of Slayer's Jeff Hanneman.

"For Jeff and for Chi [Cheng], who recently passed, and to all the families, the immediate families and all the other families, we love you and everybody loves you. We're sorry and everyone's sorry … There's a lot of great people here today and we'll all be bringing the love for sure, for sure." - Slipknot's Shawn "Clown" Crahan.

"It's very unfortunate that it had to happen on this day, but at the same time you've got a day when all the people from the genre have gathered, so in a weird way, his passing will be honored by everyone. We were all fans of his band. He was an instrumental person in establishing thrash as a metal genre. It's a sad, sad thing. He was young, 49." - Five Finger Death Punch's Zoltan Bathory.

"Huge fan. 'Raining Blood' is my favorite album of all-time and even before I could play music, I was listening to 'Raining Blood.' I know he was out of the band recently with his problems, but I had no idea it was this serious. It's really sad man. It's a heartbreaking cloud over this day, but all we can do is celebrate Slayer and what he did with the band and everything." - In This Moment's Chris Howarth.

"We toured with Slayer many times. And Jeff Hanneman with his riffs, I would proclaim that he's one of the fathers of metal. It really hasn't sunk in yet. It sucks, but what are you going to do?" - Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho.

"They're one of the most tightest bands in the world and obviously, you know why people yell, 'Slayer.' It's the loss of a legend man. It's tough for any community. Rest in peace." - Halestorm's Lzzy Hale, Josh Smith and Joe Hottinger.

"The first memory of mine was there was a friend of mine telling me, 'Dude you have to hear Slayer.' He had gone to a show and come back and had bruises all over his face. And that's just the memory I'll always have of that band is that they were just relentless when it came to their performances." - Sick Puppies' Shim Moore.

"I did see him play and they just bring it so hard. It's sad to see him go. Everyone dies, but thrash is always going be grateful for his work." - Huntress' Jill Janus.

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