EXODUS Guitarist: 'Organized Religion In All Forms Is Just A Poison'

"The Classic Metal Show" recently conducted an interview with EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow;

The Classic Metal Show: [The new EXODUS album] "The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibition A" really seems to attack organized religion as a whole. What is your take on organized religion?

Gary Holt: Organized religion in all forms is just a poison. It's responsible for 90% of the world's arrows. I can't pinpoint rape and arson on it always. Probably sometimes. We attacked it in some ways, especially "Children Of A Worthless God" laying our sites on radical Islam. You look at what's going on in the Sudan with the teacher. People are screaming for her to be executed for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Mohammed." If that isn't a religion that just breeds violence and teaches ignorance, then nothing is. But I have decided that the next rabbit that my snake eats will be named "Mohammed" before I feed it to my snake. I'm going to capture it on film, and I'm going to post it on the Internet so everybody can watch "Mohammed" going down my snake's throat. Then I will film the shit that my snake lays and point out that that is the remnants of "Mohammed." You know, fuck those assholes!

The Classic Metal Show: Is your name Gary "Shit Disturber" Holt?

Gary Holt: Absolutely! You know, it's like this. We're not the first and we won't be the last to attack Christianity, but why does Islam get such a free pass? The fact that you draw Mohammed and you get a death threat, but in the same sentence they get upset if you proclaim them to be a radical religion the breeds violence and shit like that. They threaten your life for drawing a cartoon of their leading fictional character.

The Classic Metal Show: We talked with your former singer Steve "Zetro" Sousa when he was out promoting his DUBLIN DEATH PATROL album, and he commented about "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" that he wished he had sang on it. What is your relationship with Zetro these days?

Gary Holt: I have to let out a hearty laugh when I hear him say that, because the last thing in the world he wanted to be was in… you know, we're on good terms now. We're casual friends. We don't get together to have barbecues or watch football games. He's a Raiders fan anyway, so that's an impossibility for a 'Niners fan such as myself. We're cool and everything. I think DUBLIN DEATH PATROL is a perfect project for him because it allows him to go out and play rock 'n' roll singer for maybe a week at a time out of the year, and festivals and stuff. It's so funny to hear him say that shit though, because it should have been you playing in South America instead of having to hire friends to fill in, but you were going three days before our scheduled flight time! It's just kind of funny. You can't have it both ways, pal! But I have no hatred for him.

To hear this interview in its entirety, go to this location.