In a recent interview with Guitar World, Gary Holt compared his experience with Slayer to Exodus and described it as less intense.
Gary Holt has been in a constant dilemma since starting his career in the music industry. Between the two groups, he had to focus more on one than the other during different career milestones for the bands. When Holt worked with Exodus, he couldn’t be a part of everything. For example, the live shows would overlap with Slayer’s, and he would have to miss them to attend their performances.
During the last stages of his time as Slayer’s second guitarist, Gary Holt sometimes felt that he had neglected his main band, Exodus. While he was proud to be in the Slayer, the band he loved and enjoyed being a part of, Holt wished he had more time to spend on Exodus. Exodus was the band he had played with since high school, so it held a special place. Even though Holt felt the urge to return to Exodus full-time, he still missed certain traits of Slayer.
In his recent interview, Gary Holt stated that he only had one job when he was with Slayer, and that was to kill it on stage, and it was pretty easy for him. However, when he transitioned to Exodus, he had more responsibilities within the band. He added that even though it is a more challenging job, he loves it nonetheless.
Gary Holt’s thoughts on playing with Slayer:
“Yeah, man. I’ve been friends with those guys since we were kids. And I had one job in Slayer and one job only. Go out, play killer, bang your head and play a little bit of a guitar hero role. One thing I was shocked with was how many Slayer solos there are.
There are songs that I played three solos in, and at one point, I’d be like, ‘Alright, I’m just going to go shred and play this one behind my head ’cause I’m out of ideas.’ But yeah, it was fun and relatively easy. I wear many more hats in Exodus and have a lot more responsibility. Fortunately, I love it, but it’s not always easy.”
After eight years since their studio album ‘Blood In, Blood Out,’ Exodus made a comeback with their latest album, ‘Persona Non Grata.’ Gary Holt explained this album as the project that would have been released earlier if it weren’t for his responsibilities with Slayer.
