Slayer never want to disappoint their legion of dedicated fans. That's why the band has decided to still participate in the Australian Soundwave Festival, which kicks off Feb. 26, while guitarist and founding member Jeff Hanneman continues to recover from the emergency surgery he underwent late last month after he contracted a serious infection in his right arm.

Turns out, Hanneman was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis. Yes, it sounds nasty and like it could have been the title of a Slayer song, but doctors believe Hanneman's illness was the result of a spider bite. Hanneman is at home and receiving subsequent medical care and procedures, including skin grafts. A full recovery is expected.

While Hanneman works on getting back to normal, the band will bring on a guest guitarist to fill in for him until he's fully recuperated. The band will announce the identity of the guest guitarist shortly.

"After everything that happened last year, we all agreed that we just can't let our fans down again," said guitarist Kerry King in a statement. King is obviously referring to vocalist/bassist Tom Araya's severe back and neck pain that required surgery in January 2010 and forced the band to table several tour plans. "Jeff is totally on board with this decision, so we will tour as planned. At this point, we can't pinpoint exactly what day he'll be back, but he'll be back as soon as he possibly can. And we can't wait for Jeff to get better and get his ass back on the road."

Araya weighed in, as well, saying, "Jeff is our brother, we've all been friends and together as a band for almost 30 years. So we just want him to completely recover as soon as possible."

Noisecreep extends get well wishes to Hanneman, as well.

Watch Slayer's AOL Sessions Video

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