In a new interview with Greg Prato of Ultimate Guitar, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt, who began filling in for Jeff Hanneman at SLAYER‘s live shows in 2011, and became the band’s full-time co-guitarist as of 2013, while remaining a member of EXODUS, was asked what he remembers about his first show playing for SLAYER, and whether he felt any pressure. He responded: “The first show was Soundwave Festival in Australia, and I didn’t really feel any pressure. I was super-prepared. I just went out and did my thing and had a great show. It was awesome. I mean, maybe in the back of your head, you feel a little pressure over whose shoes you’re attempting to fill. Whose seat you’re keeping warm, I should say. But I was ready. I was 100% ready for it.”
Asked if SLAYER fans are really as ruthless as some people say they are, Gary said: “In all the countless shows I did, I’ve only had two hecklers. Two hecklers that I noticed. Most people looked at my participation like this: ‘Get well soon, Jeff, ‘ which is how I looked at it, too. ‘But while this is available to me, this is cool. I’ve watched SLAYER and Gary Holt play together. Let’s check this out. This is going to be awesome.’ And I had two genuine hecklers, one in Germany, this guy with this awful skullet. He was down there, like, flipping me off the whole show. And usually, I’m super thick-skinned — this doesn’t bother me. But I sent a production manager down, and he was on the radio, and they were about to throw the guy out because he was starting to fuck up my show. And then the guy realized that, and he booked. But you know, dude, you know this wasn’t a surprise fill-in. You knew before tickets went on sale, you still bought the fuckin’ ticket. So, why are you here if it’s that bad?”
“And then we played a show in Milan [Italy], and they had a guy front row, dead center stage, just screaming ‘Fuck you!’ at me, the whole show. And at that one, I jumped down on the subwoofers at the end of the show, like a foot from his face, and asked if he had anything to say now. And he didn’t. He was pissing me off. Younger me might have thrown a punch. [Laughs] He was stuck. There was nowhere he could have gone. You know, 5,000 people behind him. But he had to get front row to make his thoughts known.”
He added: “You paid for the ticket. You’re a fuckin’ moron if you hate it that much. But two people out of, like, countless shows. That’s a pretty good track record, I guess.”
Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, in January 2011 from a spider bite in his backyard. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman‘s arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.
Hanneman eventually died in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER‘s classic songs, including “Angel Of Death” and “South Of Heaven”.
Holt joined EXODUS in 1981, shortly after the band’s formation, and has been the group’s main songwriter ever since. Holt has performed on every EXODUS album, and is considered highly influential in the world of thrash metal.
