My bet is if you were to ask Exodus guitarist Gary Holt, he'd say that life has been pretty sweet over the last decade. After his successful stint in Slayer came to an end in 2019, Holt stepped right back into his even more familiar role as the guitar wizard of Exodus.
Right now, Exodus is out supporting Anthrax and Black Label Society on the tour that keeps taking names and kicking ass across the US. But in an interview with Loudwire, Holt revealed that a new Exodus record is in the works, and that he has "got a million riffs" already to choose from.
"After this tour I've got three months off and I'm going to start working on the new record," Holt said. "I've always got a million riffs. I probably have a thousand that I didn't use on the last album. Sometimes it's just because I get OCD and I get caught up in the latest riff and I won't go back and bother to listen to the other stuff. And sometimes I'll pull up really great stuff that is decades old — wow, how did I not use that?"
Asked if he's ever worried about losing this vast archive of riffs, Holt said, "Sometimes [Exodus drummer] Tom Hunting makes me [go through my old riffs] and then we'll find some real gems. Some of my favorite stuff on the record will be like that, but if I lost them all I'd just write new ones."
"Here's the difference between me and a lot of other guys," Holt continued, "I'll just write new ones. I'll write a riff right now without a guitar in my hand — easy.
"Writing riffs is like breathing. It's not difficult if you love it. I've got my voice recorder on my phone and they are backed up. I've got so many riffs and some of the best stuff might not ever get used because I'll come up with something else and I won't feel like it's necessary to dig into the vaults for stuff."
You can catch Exodus out on the road with Anthrax and Black Label Society on the last nine dates of their winter tour.
2/7 – Corbin, KY @ Corbin Arena [Tickets]
2/8 – St. Louis, MO @ The Factory at The District [Tickets]
2/10 – San Antonio, TX @, Tech Port Center + Arena [Tickets]
2/11 – Houston, TX @ Bayou [Tickets]
2/13 – Omaha, NE @ The Admiral Theater [Tickets]
2/14 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion [Tickets]
2/15 – Albuquerque, NM @ Revel [Tickets]
2/17 – Riverside, CA @ Municipal Auditorium [Tickets]
2/18 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater [Tickets]
