Gary Holt Won’t Quit Exodus To Join Slayer Full Time

Current Slayer guitarist Gary Holt, who is standing in for Jeff Hanneman while he recovers from a flesh-eating virus, says he wouldn’t quit his original band Exodus to take up a full-time Slayer role.

Despite this, he’s almost fully booked with Slayer for the foreseeable future, and Kerry King says he’d welcome Holt to the band for a permanent role.

Speaking to Metal Titans (via Metal Insider), Holt was asked if he would quit Exodus for Slayer.

“Not if it meant the end of what I’ve been doing my whole life,” Holt said. “But I’ve been filling in for just over two years now and I’m booked all year with them. I’m just keeping the work going with Exodus and I’ve been doing a lot of riffs on tour.”

He continued: “On the summer [run] with Slayer, I’m taking a little portable, digital recording rig with me so I can continue working on [new Exodus] stuff in hotel rooms.”

So there it is: if Jeff Hanneman recovers, he has a place in Slayer again. And since Kerry King is happy to look after Slayer’s songwriting duties alone, Holt can carry on with writing new Exodus material and keep fans of both bands happy.