Gary Holt joined Exodus at 17. He's 61 now. In the years between, he played Slayer's arena circuit, sold out the L.A. Forum, and watched the Big Four ascend into mythology. Then Slayer ended, and within two months he was back in a cramped European venue, showering in conditions he'd rather not describe — and by his own account, couldn't have been happier about it.
That's the story behind the guitarist who's spent four and a half decades loyal to one band. In a new interview with Moshville Times, ahead of Exodus's forthcoming album Goliath, Holt laid out his philosophy with the kind of plainspokenness that thrash was built on.
From the Forum to the Floor Drain
Holt's time with Slayer is well documented. He stepped in as a full touring member in 2011 following Jeff Hanneman's illness and stayed through the band's final farewell run. Playing to 17,000 people at the L.A. Forum is not a small thing. For most guitarists, it would redefine their baseline.
Not for Holt.
"It's a way of life, being in Exodus," he told Moshville Times. "Even in the years I spent touring with Slayer, I missed this. I missed it."
When Slayer played their final show, Holt didn't slide into some comfortable post-career arrangement. Two months later, he was back in the trenches. "I went from two nights sold out at the L.A. Forum with Slayer to two months later, I was showering in some really sketchy German venue shower on tour with Exodus, and I loved it. It was awesome."
That's not nostalgia talking. That's a guitarist who actually likes his job.
The Math of a Career
The music business runs on mythology. Guitarists who make it big are supposed to want bigger — bigger stages, bigger guarantees, bigger trailers. Holt has no patience for that narrative.
"I'm not rich, but I make a living playing guitar, and that's a gift in itself," he said. "I can't retire — I gotta keep working — but I love my job. So working isn't a problem."
That's a specific kind of honesty that doesn't show up often in metal press. No complaints, no martyrdom, no calculated humility for the cameras. Just a guy who knows what he has and values it correctly.
He'll be 62 in May. Still touring. Still writing. Still hauling gear through Europe when the occasion demands it.
What Actually Fuels the Riffs
Asked about his creative process and influences, Holt went somewhere no one expected.
"I listen to Adele. The only album I listen to is everything by Adele. I'm obsessed. I love Adele. And my radio in my car is either on sports talk radio or soft rock."
He wasn't done. "Maybe I'm getting some influence by Christopher Cross. I don't know. And Prince — Prince is my musical hero. I probably subconsciously take as much influence from him as I do anyone else."
The answer reads like a joke but it isn't. Holt still reaches back to what he grew up on — Nazareth, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent, AC/DC, Scorpions — the same records he wore out in high school. None of it sounds like what Exodus plays, and maybe that's the point. "I still write the same way I always did. I just sit down and jam and play until something sticks."
That's a compositional philosophy with a 45-year proof of concept attached to it.
Goliath and What Comes Next
The interview lands six days before Goliath hits shelves. The album — Exodus's thirteenth studio record and their first on Napalm Records — is out March 20. It's also the first to feature Rob Dukes on vocals since Exhibit B: The Human Condition in 2010, a reunion that adds another layer of long-game narrative to Holt's story.
The album was announced last year to considerable noise in the thrash community. Dual singles — "3111" (January) and "Goliath" (February) — established the sonic direction: tighter, meaner, and pulling no punches. It was produced by Exodus and mixed by Mark Lewis, whose credits include Whitechapel, Nile, and Undeath.
Tom Hunting's return to the kit after his cancer battle adds another dimension to Goliath's release — this is a band that has been through genuine hardship and still showed up.
At this point in their career, Exodus doesn't need to prove anything. Goliath is them doing it anyway.
Pre-order or stream Goliath via Amazon.
