Gary Holt recently spoke with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation. During their conversation, he talks about the upcoming tour with Exodus. He also talks about playing with Slayer, and opens up about meeting Paul Di’Anno.
SiriusXM's Trunk Nation, hosted by Eddie Trunk, airs daily at 3 PM, ET on SiriusXM’s Faction Talk. Audio clips and transcription below courtesy of SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation.
On upcoming headlining tour for Exodus:
"The Bay Area, for instance, you know, it's our hometown. We haven't done a headlining Bay Area show in like 10 years. We just like stepped away from that and like, look, we'll do, we did like tons of The Bay Strikes Back with Testament, Death Angel, and we're playing an hour set, you know, pretty close to headlining. I think Testament only played like 10 minutes longer than we did. And it felt awesome. We were in the prime spot. We were going out and flattening people. And then, you know, I was scouting where I was gonna have dinner before the people even were on their way home. It's awesome. But you know, we figured it's time. Let's go out. You know, our agents, you know, do agent things and they want you to keep, you know, doing the bigger support package. But we're like, “Look, we want to carry the show ourselves, you know, sink or swim, you know.” We've designed a whole new stage, backdrop, down to everything and it's gonna be awesome.
On Paul Di'Anno:
"You know, never knew him. I've been going back in my mental Rolodex of like the first time I saw Maiden, and I think I just missed seeing him with Maiden. But we met once and it was, Pleasures of the Flesh Tour at the last show we did. It was like a little metal festival in Arizona, you know. And he'd been in Battlezone and that was the only time I ever met him. And you wanna talk about an absolute gentleman who allowed these five Bay Area dirt head thrashers to just torture him for information. And you know, we just fanboyed out, you know, because as far as Exodus goes, right, you know, we're all, you know, this band was founded in the ‘70s and we were covering Maiden songs at backyard parties when no one knew who Maiden was. Everybody would thought they were originals. And it was all because a friend of ours saw the first album in the import section and bought it based solely on the artwork. And the live and the photo in the back, he's like, 'These guys must be killer.' You know, it's a friend of mine who wasn't, you know, a musician at all. And we listened to that and changed my life, you know, changed everything."
On playing with Slayer:
"You know, it's a perfect scenario for me because, you know, I don't want to put Exodus on my back burner anymore. And, you know, but also Slayer's a big part of my life as well, you know, and so it allows fans to hear those songs again, which playing them was just like, so, so awesome. But it allows me to continue to go out, write, put out records and make music with my friends for most of my life, you know? And so that'd be a perfect scenario for me, you know? We'll see what happens. There's no plans as of yet for another one, but, you know, I mean, I have about 10 guitars ready to go that we use, and they're ready to ship off wherever they need. So, you know, we'll see what happens."
Exodus are set to unleash their ferocious live show across North America with their "The Battle Of '24" tour. The tour marks the band's first headlining run in many years and will feature support from thrash metallers Havok, metallic hardcore outfit Candy, and crossover thrashers Dead Heat.
The tour kicks off on November 2 in Tampa, FL, and will thrash across North America, ultimately concluding on December 7 in Los Angeles, CA.
Gary Holt expressed the band's excitement: "Exodus are super stoked to announce 'The Battle Of '24', our tour with Havok, Candy, and Dead Heat. This tour will be raging, and this is our first headlining tour in many years, so we're excited to dig out some deep cuts as well as play some more songs off of Persona Non Grata. Let the battle begin!"
"The Battle Of '24" tour promises to be a must-see event for metal fans, showcasing Exodus' legendary status in the thrash metal scene alongside some of the genre's most exciting current acts.
Tour dates:
November
2 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum
4 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues
5 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall
6 - Atlanta, GA - Heaven - Masquerade
8 - Dallas, TX - Granada
9 - Austin, TX - Empire
24 - Denver, CO - Ogden
13 - Des Moines, IA - Wooly's
14 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
15 - Columbus, OH - King of Clubs
16 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
17 - Bethlehem, PA - Wind Creek Event Center
18 - Montreal, QC - Beanfield Theatre
19 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
21 - Worcester, MA - Palladium Upstairs
22 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
23 - Pittsburgh, PA - Preserving
24 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
26 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
27 - Winnipeg, MB - Exchange Event Centre
29 - Calgary, AB - Palace Theatre
30 - Edmonton, AB - Union Hall
December
2 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
3 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
4 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne
6 - Berkeley, CA - UC Theatre
7 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent
The announcement follows Exodus’ recent signing to Napalm Records in 2023. The band, a dominant force in thrash metal for over four decades, is thrilled about this new chapter in its storied career. Their latest album, Persona Non Grata (2021), debuted at #1 on the Current Hard Music Albums chart and #9 on the Billboard 200 with Hard Rock Genre chart in the USA. Exodus have seen increasing international response and success in their most recent era, and now, joined with Napalm Records, are thrilled for their exciting next phase.
Exodus is:
Gary Holt - guitar
Tom Hunting - drums
Steve "Zetro" Souza - vocals
Lee Altus - guitar
Jack Gibson - bass
