Exodus - Mind-numbing speed and aggression

Exodus leader/guitarist Gary Holt is on a roll. Since he and the rest of Exodus came storming back in ’04 with the brilliant Tempo Of The Damned, each successive album (‘05’s Shovel Headed Kill Machine and today’s equally brilliant The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A) has become more and more brutal and faster than the previous one. With the new CD, Holt and company have turned in a mind-numbing display of speed and aggression.

“You have to be on top of your game, if you’re gonna play this kind of music,” Holt explains, ‘cause there’s a lot of competition out there. That’s not why I’m still in the game though. I’m still doing it because I have some things to say. There are things going on that are pissing me off, and I need to vent. People need to have that release, you know?” he notes.

Speaking of venting, one of the strangest concert occurrences in recent memory happened at an Exodus show in South America. “Oh man, it was fucking bizarre,” Holt explains. “We played the show, had a f#*king great time and after the show, when we were walking out of the venue, we noticed these huge piles of hair! No kidding! I’ve never seen so much hair in my life!

“Evidently while we were playing, the crowd was getting off on the music so much that they were yanking each other’s hair out! There was no violence, no fighting or anything like that. It was an extremely well-behaved crowd, but we saw masses of hair that the cleaning crew had swept into piles every three feet. We couldn’t have made that up if you paid us. I don’t know if we should be disgusted, happy or take it as a sign of respect. I’ve seen some pretty extreme reactions to our music, but that’s a whole new level. How would you react?” he asks.

As expected, Holt and Exodus take a confrontational approach with their music. On songs like “Children Of A Worthless God,” “The Garden Of Bleeding” and “Iconoclasm,” Holt directly attacks religion. “I think religion is probably the greatest method ever invented for turning people into sheep. How many wars has religion been the root cause of? Why can’t people see that? Sometimes it gets infuriating, and I tend to get disgusted.

“I know what I say won’t change the world,” he elaborates, “I’m not stupid, but I’m also not going to let anyone stop me from expressing myself. In all honesty, I don’t mind religious people, I can’t really judge them, but if they try to push their beliefs on me, they’re going to realize they’re talking to an intelligent individual who won’t back down. I mean, I welcome input from everybody, but nobody has managed to change my outlook on that. Plenty have tried, but nobody has succeeded yet,” he laughs.

Other tracks on The Atrocity Exhibition express some genuine concern over the state of affairs, that has resulted from the US presence in the Middle East and Iraq. “As It Was, As it Soon Shall Be” is a prime example.

“We will always have a presence in Iraq. That will never change. No matter what regime, be it Democratic or Republican that’s in place in America, we will never leave Iraq. Whether we’re there as a peacekeeping presence or not, we will always be there. The Sunnis and Shiites have hated each other for centuries. That’s never going to change. Not ever. Our government may think we can change things over there, but it’s never going to happen. In fact, our presence there is only increasing their resentment towards America. I think we need to stop policing the world and concentrate on fixing what’s happening in our own country. That’s not an unreasonable thought, is it?”

On a lighter note, we brought it to Holt’s attention that when the band came through Dallas in ’04, our editor, Linda Hollar drove to the venue to see their sound check and ran into Holt across the street from the venue at a “Christian” coffee shop. “When asked if he knew about the religious connection, Holt’s response is expectedly candid. “I remember that place. I didn’t know about the religious connection, but it wouldn’t have stopped me because I don’t judge people on those merits. Also, someone told me that they had free Internet if you bought a coffee, and I had to check my email,” he laughs.

The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A is in stores now, and you can see Exodus at Fort Worth’s Ridglea Theater on Jan. 25. But you have to promise not to pull your hair out!