Exodus & Havok (w/ Candy & Dead Heat)

Thrash metal legends Exodus and Havok co-headline Empire Live in Albany, with special guests Candy and Dead Heat kicking off the night.

For more than 40 years, thrash metal has eviscerated the world with a big, stupid grin on its face. Firmly at the genre’s forefront throughout its existence, Exodus are undisputed legends. From the far-beyond-seminal eruption of their debut album Bonded By Blood, first released in 1985, to the skull-smashing extremity of the records the Bay Area crew have released in recent years, they remain a benchmark for thrash brutality and unerring commitment to the heavy metal cause. In fact, for many connoisseurs, Exodus are the ultimate thrash metal band, with a sound that was revolutionary back in the early ‘80s, and still way ahead of the curve today. Never mind the Big Four. Exodus are the rightful kings of thrash, and Bonded By Blood is still the ultimate expression of the genre’s snotty, energized essence.

Exodus are poised to celebrate the anniversary of their debut album’s release next year, with as-yet-unspecified plans to commemorate the occasion with some special live shows. But beyond a fully justified act of nostalgia, the future will also bring a brand new Exodus studio album. The band have been at the genre’s cutting edge throughout their four decades, and never more so than now, as showcased on 2021’s Persona Non Grata: a vicious tour-de-force of high velocity violence that confirmed that despite their veteran status, Holt and his band mates are still the most crushing band around.

Back in 1985, Exodus exploded onto the scene alongside many of the established greats of thrash. Fronted by the ultimate metal talisman Paul Baloff, they ripped the hard rock scene a series of new assholes and delivered a timeless classic debut album that would turn them into bona fide icons. At the time, however, Exodus and their friends were simply living in the moment, and making as much noise as possible until the cops arrived.

“Yeah, man. Back then, the idea of turning 30 was big! It was like ‘Life’s gonna be over!’ you know?” Holt grins. “30 year olds were old men. Little did we know that most of our heroes were in their 30s by then! But we had no idea. We were just making music that we enjoyed making and that we loved, and we were looking for the next good time. And now here we are, sharing emails about how we’re gonna celebrate 40 years of this landmark record, you know? I never thought that was gonna happen 40 years ago, that’s for sure.”

Despite their youthful naivety, the early Exodus line-up swiftly became one of the most important bands in metal. Bonded By Blood was followed by two stone cold classics – Pleasures Of The Flesh (1987) and Fabulous Disaster (1989) – which introduced a new frontman, Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza, to the world, alongside numerous classic songs that are still part of the band’s set lists today. Next, Exodus dared to poke the mainstream, with two albums for Capitol Records. The metal world was changing in the early ‘90s, and while Exodus were still releasing formidable material, the winds of change were plainly heading their way. Combined with a mixed reception for 1992’s slower and groovier Force Of Habit record, Holt and his comrades quietly called it a day in 1993, only to return with a reformed line-up – featuring Holt, Paul Baloff, drummer Tom Hunting and guitarist Rick Hunolt – for a short US tour in 1997, which led to scorching live album Another Lesson In Violence. A second reunion took place in 2001, but was tragically thwarted by the premature death of Baloff in February 2002.

Inspired by their reformation, Exodus kicked on with extreme focus as the 21^st century began to hot up. In 2004, and with Zetro back on vocals, they released Tempo Of The Damned, which received widespread acclaim for its sheer intensity and bone-cracking heaviness. At the same time, thrash metal was beginning to exert its power over the metal scene all over again.

Nothing is ever easy in Exodus World. The success of Tempo Of The Damned was quickly dented by an acrimonious split between the band and their frontman, which led to the recruitment of new vocalist Rob Dukes for 2005’s monstrous Shovel Headed Kill Machine, and its two epic follow-ups, The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A (2007) and Exhibit B: The Human Condition (2010). In between, Exodus released a re-recorded and updated version of Bonded By Blood, known as Let There Be Blood. Dukes was fired in 2014, midway through writing for the band’s next album, and Zetro made a third return to the fold, adding his scabrous shrieks to 2014’s Blood In, Blood Out: yet another peerless demonstration of thrash savagery. Since then, Exodus have been steadfast in their devotion to thrashing the world to bloody bits, and Holt speaks proudly of the harmony that currently dominates the band’s creative life together.

“Rob has cemented himself in the Exodus history books. Some of my favourite records are the Dukes era stuff,” he says. “But things happen for whatever reason they do, and third time’s a charm. I’m closer to Zetro than I ever was back in the ‘80s or the early 2000s. Tom Kiefer from Cinderella said it so wisely, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone!’ Maybe Zetro being gone twice, it changed things. I’d watched it all go away, you know? After the ‘80s, I was out shovelling dog shit and washing trailers for seven bucks an hour, after being this hot shit band, so I know what it’s like to lose it all and go back to working some menial shit job for an asshole boss. So we never take it for granted. We’re all like 60 or close to it, so if we can’t find harmony now, we should just call it a day!”

Exodus are globally renowned as the most devastating of thrash metal bands, and their live shows continue to set standards for heavy music and a riotous good time. As they showed on Persona Non Grata, they have never lost a shred of their intensity, or their unwavering ability to write thrash songs that will make fans want to bang their heads until their brains dribble out. The result is that Exodus are currently more successful and revered than ever before. Gary Holt has been very busy over the last few years, both with Exodus and with the mighty Slayer, but his focus will sharpen once more in 2025 when his band hit the studio to record their 12^th studio album, and first for Napalm Records. Details about the new material will have to wait for another day, but the guitarist is buzzing with excitement about the new material. Next year, fans can expect to have their heads ripped off yet again.

“The new shit is crushing, but it’s full of hooks,” says Holt. “As the primary riff writer I still hold myself to super unrealistic expectations. I have a million and one riffs, but I want the riff that makes guitar players go, ‘How the fuck did he do that? It’s fucking ridiculous!’ I’m stoked. This shit’s killer. There are some surprises. There’s some hooky, catchy shit, and there’s some ridiculous, heavy shit. It’s all heavy as fuck.”

Nearly 40 years on from the release of thrash metal’s greatest record, Exodus are still hell-bent on musical carnage. 2025 promises to be a special year, with a new record and celebrations for the Bonded By Blood anniversary, but the real news about the band is that they are still here, still brutal, still dangerous, and still the fucking best. Bonded by blood, now and forever. THRASH!

“Honestly, I don’t want to travel so much anymore,” admits Holt. “I’ve got my kids and that’s my happy place, but I’m aware that I need to push this and take it while I can. Eventually I may be unable to play songs like these! In 6 years I’ll be almost 70 and I’m playing ridiculous level shit that’s much harder to play than the Bonded By Blood stuff, you know? So I’m not making it easy on us! But I love fucking playing this shit still. I’m not burned out on it. I still fucking love thrash metal. It’s awesome and it keeps me happy.”