Exodus leader Gary Holt recently recalled his days with Metallica’s Kirk Hammett when his band came to play in his high school. The rocker told the story of watching Hammet sing the Scorpions’ ‘Another Piece of Meat,’ which wasn’t a pleasant experience.
Before Kirk Hammett made himself known with Metallica, he was in Exodus from 1979 to 1983. He had stepped into the music world with his guitar skills with the band. The band wasn’t well known initially, and their lineup was shaky.
After the band’s guitarist Tim Agnello left Exodus, Gary Holt joined. The musician remains to be the longest-running member of the band. He became the primary songwriter, singer, and guitarist and made himself known with his contributions.
Gary Holt was only around 17 years old when he joined Exodus, and he remembered when the band came to play in his high school’s music room. Hammett had sung Scorpions’ song ‘Another Piece of Meat,’ and according to Holt, it was awful. Even though the experience of seeing the rock instruments live up close was unforgettable, hearing Hammett sing wasn’t that pleasing.
Here is what he said about Hammett’s singing:
“The first time I met Kirk was in my high school music room, Richmond High, and Exodus came and played. Tom Hunting grew up, like, 50 yards from my house, across from a park, but he went to a different school. He went to De Anza High, where Kirk did. I knew Tom, I’d see him around, but I didn’t know him that well. But I was really good friends with the other guitar player in Exodus, Tim Agnello, who I did know.
And they came in and played in the music room, and it was awesome. Even though Kirk sang ‘Another Piece Of Meat,’ it was just really awful, as you can imagine. Kirk Hammett was trying to sing Klaus Meine at his greatest; it was bad. But there was something about that. Even though I’d been to many concerts, being in a room and hearing an electric guitar that was up close and personal was kind of like a special moment for me because I’d never experienced it. I’d only seen guys on stage; I’d never stood five feet away. And it was killer. I totally knew that’s what I wanted to do.
And then we went to see Ted Nugent and the Scorpions together, and we became best of friends from that first time we hung out. And then he said, ‘You wanna learn to play the guitar?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And he taught me the basics and some chords. I think the first thing he ever taught me was some Rolling Stones song and a couple of licks and all that, and six months later, I was in the band.”
You can listen to the Scorpions song below.
https://omny.fm/shows/talkin-rock-with-meltdown/talkin-rock-with-fozzys-chris-jericho-and-envy-of
