Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman died of cirrhosis on May 2, the same day as the Golden Gods Awards. It was devastating that on a day meant to celebrate the lives of the best musicians in metal, one of those artists was taken from the world of music.

It also came as a shock. In fact, by all accounts, Hanneman's health appeared to have been improving -- he reportedly even looking forward to working on a new record. In memory of Hanneman, here are eight other musicians who influenced metal in a big way and were taken from us way before their time was up.

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Caleb Haley

If you've been reading this whiskey-drenched, devil-horn-throwing column every week for more than a year, here's a little thank-you flashback to the beginning. In one of the first Metal Mondays installments, I talked about the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles -- basically the heavy metal Grammys. I couldn't get off work and was pretty pissed off about it. So I decided to celebrate a different kind of golden god: Jim Marshall, who had passed away the week before.

Well, the 5th Golden Gods Awards show was held Thursday, May 2, at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. And lo and behold, I snagged a spot on the "black carpet" conducting interviews, as well as a ticket to the awards show. Hellll yeaahh.

Here's the thing, though. No one seems to give a shit about the Golden Gods Awards. Even hardcore metalheads.

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It's about time someone finally brought heavy metal and sex toys -- a match made in heaven -- together in one package. And Swedish heavy metallers Ghost (also known as Ghost B.C.) was just the band to do it.

Known for their eccentric on-stage presence -- five of the members (known as "Nameless Ghouls") wear hooded robes, while the lead singer dons a skull mask and cardinal outfit -- Ghost just put out its second album, Infestissumam, on April 10. Along with this release, the band also put out 250 limited-edition hardcore-fan collectibles dubbed "Phallos Mortuus" Ritual Box Sets.

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Lots of artists stand out for designing some kick-ass metal covers -- like the recently deceased Storm Thorgerson, for example, who lent his art to everyone from Led Zeppelin to Black Sabbath over the course of 30 years. But when it comes to weaving together the heavy metal standard of horror, the dark side of humanity, and substantial sacrifices to the heavy metal gods, the first person that comes to mind has to be Vincent Castiglia.

In short, his work is bloody wonderful.

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Lauren Wise

You know what I like . . .

It looks like all these Record Store Days are paying off. In 2012, global sales for vinyl records hit $171 million, their highest point since 1997 -- the same year that Hanson's "MMMBop" topped the charts.

This Saturday, April 20, marks the sixth annual Record Store Day, when artists and labels dish out rare and exclusive releases to fans that results in a sort-of major shopping day on the musical calendar.

There are lots of reasons to love vinyl, especially heavy metal vinyl -- besides the fact that you can play them backwards and get the messages Satan wants you to hear.

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http://www.myspace.com/theclubhousedallas/

A few of the lovely ladies at Vinnie Paul's Clubhouse in Dallas.

Some of you may remember last March when a little column called Metal Mondays debuted via Up on the Sun, and immediately dove into the subjects matters of Pantera, strippers, Jack Daniel's, and YouTube.

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For as long as metal has been around, people have associated the sound with "The Devil" and "Satanism." Locally, it's slim pickins' finding an actual Satanic metal band to chat with. I'm not talking "dressed in black" here; I'm talking blood-guzzling, church-burning, javelina-murdering dudes donning corpse paint with greasy long black hair.

I know they are out there, though, most notably in the depths of Norway, Sweden, England, and parts of Eastern Europe. Varg and Burzum, Venom and Celtic Frost: The influence of these bands is enduring. While I haven't been able to get any of those guys on the phone, I did recently chat with Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth. If you Google "Satanic bands," you'll find Cradle of Filth on many lists.

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From Up on the Sun's "Fire Marshall Beck" rant in 2007 to praise of his project Staren Black in 2010, the relationship between the New Times and local metal figure Marshall "Fucking" Beck has always been, um, "complicated."

Certain members of the New Times staff -- past and present -- think he's pompous and hotheaded or just plain full of shit. For his part, he makes no bones about it: He definitely thinks New Times is full of shit and inefficiently covers the local metal scene.

See also:

-Reign of Vengeance Frontman Marshall Beck on Joe Arpaio, Mormons and Misogyny

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Tru-B-Dor Records recording artists Storm of Perception performing at Joe's Grotto.

Usually, people move from places like the middle of nowhere to big industry cities like New York and Los Angeles to find musical success, and stay there. Not the other way around.

But for former Guns N' Roses manager Alan Niven and his wife Heather Vincent-Niven, finding solace in Arizona's godforsaken desert -- away from the music industry -- allowed them to discover the unique talent that this state has to offer, and establish a new label, Tru-B-Dor Records, to get the music in the ears of listeners all over the world.

See also:

-Buckethead on His Time in Guns 'N' Roses: "No Answer."

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Classic thrash/doom metal band Seventh Angel. Guess what? One of these guys is teaching Sunday school.

Chances are, if you're a weekly reader of Metal Mondays here at Up on the Sun, you don't think of metalheads as thickheaded, grotesque, and crude Neanderthals. You know metal fans can be smart, erudite, and witty. Still, among the pop masses, there's a prevailing attitude that metal listeners are capital D dumb. But guess what, folks? Metalheads are smart and sly, and we're invading your colleges and churches.

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