Exodus
By Eric Chon
Thursday. Mar 30, 12:03 AM
An interview with guitarist/backup vocalist Gary Holt.

Gary hardly needs any introducing. For those who’ve waved the flag of heavy metal for a long time, he is a legend. One of the founders of thrash metal with the genre-defining Exodus, Gary’s signature guitar sound and aggressive riffing paved the way for the modern metal scene the world knows now. No stranger to drama, Gary is now the sole remaining member of this metal giant. And with new frontman Rob Dukes, he has delivered another blistering masterpiece of thrash. Gary shared a few words with us before taking the stage at Worcester Palladium...

How has the tour been treating you?

You know, the South’s been kinda rough attendance wise, but some of the shows were really killer. The crowds really made up for it. And, you know, shows moved and stuff. Hurricanes. We played Hollywood before heading South and that was great, but as soon as we started heading east, like to Allentown, PA, things got really awesome.

Tonight’s looking pretty good. Looks like it’s gonna be a madhouse in that little place.

Yeah, I can’t believe Exodus is on the small stage. Come on!

Well, we can’t fill that big room. Not anymore; not now, anyway. I mean, we headlined that room in ’87! (laughs) But times change and we’re just working our way to get back to that.

Judging by Shovel Headed Kill Machine, the music is already there...

Well it’s all we can do. We just have to keep putting out killer albums, lay a spanking down on these younger bands and let ‘em know who’s boss! (laughs) We know a few tricks to keeping the music good. (laughs)

So... Shovel Headed Kill Machine. I heard it’s the name of a... dog?

Oh it’s a perfect description of our European drum tech’s pit bull. And when I heard that phrase come out of my manager’s mouth, I just knew I had to use that somewhere!

A pit bull is a pretty good analogy for Exodus.

Oh yeah. Once we latch on, we never let go. We’re definitely an angry dog and we’ve got a lot of fight in us. We’ll take on anyone, it doesn’t matter who you are. We don’t care.

And Rob Dukes. What a set of pipes! Where did you find this dude?

It was a stroke of luck, actually! He was our replacement guitar tech on the Megadeth tour: the first guy we had was doing a really terrible job. Literally, we made up our mind three or four shows into the tour and we were still in California at the time. We figured if we were gonna make the switch, that was the time.

A mutual friend of mine and Rob’s down in Hollywood, who worked at the Palladium there (where we played with Megadeth), recommended him. And as the tour progressed and we became friends, he told us he sang in some bands when he was in New York. It was punk bands and shit, nothing like this. But he asked for a shot and I said okay. I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, I honestly viewed it like I was throwing a bone to a friend, not expecting him to do anything except waste my time. But he came in and killed! We gave him the job immediately and didn’t audition anyone else.

With all these new guys, was recording the new album difficult?

Oh no. We busted the album out in three weeks despite all the drama. I mean, Exodus is the most dysfunctional band out there. I don’t know how many times I have to prove that. (laughs) They make documentaries of Metallica’s therapy but what they need to do is document our lack of therapy. (laughs) And our need for it sometimes.

How did you manage to put out another album of killer material in such a short amount of time? Tempo of the Damned only came out one year prior...

I’m a workaholic. It’s the only thing that keeps me sane, you know? And I’ll admit that I’ve got a point to prove, especially with all the member drama and whatnot. I just seem to work better when I’m facing an uphill battle, when someone doubts what I’m capable of. And that inspires me to hurt people! (laughs) Exodus is my legal way of punching people square in the mouth! (laughs) Just with a record instead of a fist.

And how’s the reaction been so far?

Oh it’s been great. Much like when Tempo of the Damned came out, people seem to love it. Press has been good and I’m really happy with that. Of course some fans will come out and talk shit, but that’s just the nature of the internet. Whether or not you like it, I don’t care. I just want you to give me fuckin’ respect for being able to come out and accomplish in the face of adversity they’ve never known. People droppin’ like flies out of this band, but I still put out an album this quickly. And I put out a monster album.

So this ain’t no reunion gig...

No no, I hate being lumped in with that. We reunited in ’97 before people started doin’ that. And they say “oh you just reunited in 2001 again,” but that’s not true. We just kinda dissolved but never broke up. I mean, I was dealing with divorce and my family: that shit takes center stage. And these other reunion bands are bringing back their original line-ups and shit... I’m bucking that trend. I’m bringing none. (laughs) Fuck, I’ll fire myself and be the first band with zero original members (you know, except for Napalm Death – ed.)! (laughs)

It’s gotta be cool to see thrash make this big comeback.

Well someone’s gotta wave the flag! Why not us? We helped invent this shit!

Then what’s your take on this whole “New Wave of American Heavy Metal” thing?

I think it’s great! People are listening to metal and that’s awesome. You got bands out there like Shadows Fall, Lamb Of God, just dudes who know how to play their instruments again! After nü metal and rap-metal and all that shit, nobody solo-ed because they couldn’t. No one wants to hear some fucking loser who doesn’t have a chop to his name play lead. I understand them not wanting to do it because they can’t. What a bunch of fuckin’ sissies. They can’t play their instruments. Fuck that.

Then you see a band like God Forbid, these killer new American bands, and they can play. They got chops galore and that’s great.
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Eric Chon

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