EXODUS Guitarist GARY HOLT: 'We Don't Beat Around The Bush'

Fresh off the "thrash metal wet dream" tour with MEGADETH and TESTAMENT, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt spoke to Nuclear Blast Records about the band's new album, "Exhibit B: The Human Condition", which is slated for release in Europe on May 7 and in North America on May 18.

Q: Gary, you're so prolific. Is there ever a time when you're not writing?

Holt: A lot of them. It's not like I or the others guys write all the time, although I should. But I am very prolific when I need to be, I guess.

Q: Is it important for you to describe your emotions about the current state of the world in ALL facets of your life or is EXODUS your only outlet? You're pretty blunt when it comes to your lyrics.

Holt: It's EXODUS or go rant on a street corner somewhere! But we as a band, when we have something to say, we just spill it. We don't beat around the bush so to speak.

Q: What would you say is more of the foundation for the new album — Rob Dukes' voice or yours and Lee Altus' guitars?

Holt: Both. They are absolute equals in the foundation of this record.

Q: What new technology did you use in the studio that wasn't available when you recorded "Bonded By Blood" and how effective was it?

Holt: We do things pretty much our own way, from recording in a rented house in the woods to always working with Andy [Sneap, producer; MEGADETH, ARCH ENEMY, KREATOR], who understands us perfectly. For starters, the new technology we used was digital recording of course, which allows us to record in a rented house in the first place. You could never feasibly move all the gear we used to require into a place of your own. We also recorded the album on a laptop.

Nuclear Blast USA's webshop is now taking pre-orders for the exclusive North American mail-order edition of EXODUS' new album, "Exhibit B: The Human Condition". This release features the bonus track "Devil's Teeth" and a slipcase with different artwork.

The pre-order bundles to choose from are:

* Heads t-shirt & CD: $21.00 (link)
* Grenade t-shirt & CD: $21.00 (link)
* Both t-shirts & CD: $33.00 (link)

"Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)", a brand new song from EXODUS, is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Commented guitarist Gary Holt: "We decided to give everybody another taste of the new record… and it's about one of America's favorite pastimes, the school shooting. This song was primarily inspired by the massacre at Virginia Tech, as well as Columbine and the many other instances of unhinged individuals who decided to take out their wrath on their classmates, going all the way back to [University of Texas at Austin’s 1966 tower sniper] Charles J. Whitman."

"Exhibit B: The Human Condition" track listing:

01. The Ballad Of Leonard And Charles
02. Beyond The Pale
03. Hammer And Life
04. Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)
05. Downfall
06. March Of The Sycophants
07. Nanking
08. Burn, Hollywood, Burn
09. Democide
10. The Sun Is My Destroyer
11. A Perpetual State Of Indifference
12. Good Riddance

EXODUS filmed a video for the track "Downfall" on April 1 in Los Angeles. The clip was directed by Jon Schnepp, who was the creative force behind the band's "Riot Act" video. He is also known for his work on "Metalocalypse" (the animated program about DETHKLOK, the world's most popular death metal band) on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Regarding the "Exhibit B: The Human Condition" cover artwork, Gary Holt recently stated, "We wanted to portray the violence of man at its finest, so we started with our own version of the Leonardo da Vinci sketch [of 'Vitruvian Man'], but done the 'EXODUS' way! I was pointed in the direction of Colin Larks of Rainsong Design for the cover and he killed it! To me, the artwork represents man and his affinity for bloodshed, ignorance, and all-around ability to be led like sheep to the slaughter. The image fits the songs on this record perfectly. The whole layout is going to as sick as the record itself!"