Interview with Gary Holt of Exodus

The resurrection of Exodus a few years back has been very trying on Gary Holt and it’s members the past couple years. You all know the story of Souza walking out on the band in the middle of last years Megadeth tour. And with Tom Hunting and Rick Hunolt having to depart for various personal reasons, Gary wasted no time in finding great replacements. One being Paul Bostaph on the drums.

And by the sounds of things, these thrash metal titans are not going to slow down. They are currently winding up touring for their highly successful ‘ Shovel Headed Kill Machine ‘ and shortly after the holidays, will be entering the studio to record yet another masterpiece.

I was able to catch up with Gary and Exodus on the current Monsters Of Mayhem tour with Hatebreed, Napalm Death, The Black Dahlia Murder, First Blood and Despised Icon. Here is what he had to say about a few things.

JH: So, how’s the tour been going so far?

GH: It’s great! It’s going awesome. Been playing in front of some kids who weren’t even alive when the third album was even out. Let alone the first. So there’s been a new audience and it’s been a lot of fun.

JH: How long have you been out for this album now?

GH: I think we left like August 28th.

JH: It wasn’t but a year after the release of ‘ Tempo of the Damned ‘ that you released ‘ Shovel Headed Kill Machine ‘. Was there any reasoning for the sort time span in between the two?

GH: Got nothing better to do. Gotta keep on working man.

JH: So is there another one in the works?

GH: Yeah. Hopefully we’ll in the studio around February.

JH: Have you a tentative title for it yet?

GH: I have the title, but I’m not saying.

JH: The press in a good way have been eating up ’ Shovel Headed Kill Machine ’. How has the fan reactions been?

GH: They love it. I mean, they respond to those songs as well as any other Exodus songs.

JH: How about to Rob?

GH: Oh yeah. Absolutely. They love him.

JH: So how’d you find him?

GH: He was my guitar tech on the last Megadeth tour. At the time he asked and wanted a shot. So I gave it to him and he made the job his.

JH: Now at the time when Tom, Rick and Souza were all departing from the band, was there ever a time when you thought, fuck it and hang it up?

GH: No. It’s the only thing I really know how to do.

JH: What’s it like being the only original member of Exodus?

GH: It really doesn’t feel like it. You know these guys are , Jack’s been here for over ten years and Lee’s been one of my best friends since about 1983/84. I’ve known Paul since about ’86 or so. So I’m surrounded by a bunch of old friends.

JH: You’ve sort of got the Max Cavalera band method going here. How dedicated are the current members?

GH: Everyone here is a full member of the band. There are no hired guns.

JH: And for the longevity of the band. They’re all in it for the long haul?

GH: Yes.

JH: So what does Exodus’ future look like?

GH: What? Ah,,,,,, it looks bright.

JH: That’s the answer I was looking for.

GH: Yeah, ok, I’m dumb. I’m excited. I’m fired up about it. The band has been rejuvenated and we’re going to keep rolling on.

JH: What about the set list. Obviously on a tour like this there’s not much time for you guys up there. Do you play more of the classic Exodus songs or more current songs?

GH: No. We play mostly new material.

JH: How about on a headlining tour?

GH: On a headlining tour we play for an hour and forty five minutes. So yeah, we play a little bit of everything.

JH: What’s you take on today’s American thrash scene?

GH: Metal in general today is a whole lot better than it was ten years ago. From when everyone was just rapping and jumping up and down all the time, it’s just fucking better. Europe is still our bread and butter, but it’s a whole lot better here with bands like Lamb Of God just blowing up huge and stuff.

JH: So has there been mostly the older diehard fans at the shows? Or more of a newer crowd?

GH: It’s great, we’re getting a lot of younger fans now. Which is good. It’s what we want because a bunch of the older ones have wives that don’t let them out of the house anymore.

JH: So what’s next up on the agenda?

GH: We go to Europe in November for one last headlining run over there. We’re going to Russia which is going to be very cool, Turkey, home for the holidays and then start working on the new album.

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