Gary Holt (musician)
Encyclopedia
Gary Wayne Holt is an American guitarist from the San Francisco Bay Area
. He is the lead guitarist of Exodus
.
's 1983 departure from Exodus to join Metallica
, Holt kept the band going and during a lot of years, he and Rick Hunolt
were referred to as the Exodus' "H-Team" guitar players. Holt is the only member of Exodus who has played on every album.
Gary endorses guitars by Schecter Guitar Research
and has a signature model through them, but previously used Ibanez
, B.C. Rich
and Jackson Guitars
. In October 2008, Holt released an instructional guitar video called "A Lesson In Guitar Violence". He also produced Warbringer
's second album, Waking into Nightmares
.
On February 12, 2011, it was announced that Holt would be temporarily filling in for Jeff Hanneman in the band Slayer
. Holt will immediately join Tom Araya, Kerry King and Dave Lombardo, for Slayer's five-date Australian Soundwave Festival tour that begins February 26. Holt also played with Slayer for the Big 4 Concert in Indio California on April 23, 2011, as well as Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas on November 6, 2011.
Previously used:
, Michael Schenker
, Angus Young
, Tony Iommi
, Uli Jon Roth, Matthias Jabs
and Ted Nugent
. His favorite bands include Venom
, Motörhead, Black Sabbath
, early Iron Maiden
and Judas Priest
.
Outside of music, Holt enjoys foreign and period films
. He is also an avid watcher of cable news channels, pursuant to his interest in U.S. politics. According to Holt, the track "War is my Shepherd" off the album Tempo of the Damned
is a treatise of America's "pro-god" and "pro-war" stance and how he feels the two beliefs are incompatible with each other.
Holt endorsed Barack Obama
in the 2008 presidential election, and stated:
In the 2004 election, Holt vouched for John Kerry
, but conceded:
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. He is the lead guitarist of Exodus
Exodus (band)
Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...
.
Biography
After guitarist Tim Agnello left Exodus in 1981, Gary Holt joined the band and has been the main songwriter and the most senior member of the group ever since. Following Kirk HammettKirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
's 1983 departure from Exodus to join Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Holt kept the band going and during a lot of years, he and Rick Hunolt
Rick Hunolt
Rick Hunolt is an American heavy metal guitarist who is best known for being the long time guitarist in thrash metal band Exodus. He joined the band in 1983, replacing Mike Maung who had been hired to replace original guitarist Kirk Hammett who left to join Metallica...
were referred to as the Exodus' "H-Team" guitar players. Holt is the only member of Exodus who has played on every album.
Gary endorses guitars by Schecter Guitar Research
Schecter Guitar Research
Schecter Guitar Research, commonly known as simply as Schecter, is a US guitar manufacturer. The company was founded in 1976 by David Schecter and originally produced only replacement parts for existing guitars from manufacturers such as Fender and Gibson...
and has a signature model through them, but previously used Ibanez
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
, B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich is a manufacturer of guitars and bass guitars founded by the late Bernardo Chavez Rico in 1969. Currently, most B.C. Rich guitars are manufactured in Asia, but luthiers of the company's custom shop continue to hand-make instruments. The Hanser Music Group, based in Kentucky, operates B.C....
and Jackson Guitars
Jackson Guitars
__FORCETOC__Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.-Early years:Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business...
. In October 2008, Holt released an instructional guitar video called "A Lesson In Guitar Violence". He also produced Warbringer
Warbringer
Warbringer is an American thrash metal band. The band formed in 2004. Warbringer is signed to Century Media Records. Century Media signed Warbringer after seeing them at a local show in LA. Originally, a Century Media rep was at the show to see another LA thrash metal band but decided to sign...
's second album, Waking into Nightmares
Waking into Nightmares
-Personnel:* John Kevill - Vocals* John Laux - Guitar* Adam Carroll - Guitar* Ben Bennett - Bass, * Nic Ritter - Drums* Gary Holt - Guitar Solo on track 11...
.
On February 12, 2011, it was announced that Holt would be temporarily filling in for Jeff Hanneman in the band Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
. Holt will immediately join Tom Araya, Kerry King and Dave Lombardo, for Slayer's five-date Australian Soundwave Festival tour that begins February 26. Holt also played with Slayer for the Big 4 Concert in Indio California on April 23, 2011, as well as Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas on November 6, 2011.
Equipment
Gary uses the follow instruments:- Schecter Gary Holt Signature Model
- Schecter Custom Hellraiser V`s;
- EnglEnglENGL is a German company that makes high-end tube amplifiers for electric guitars. Over the years ENGL has succeeded in becoming a global player in this market...
Savage 120 Head and Engl 4x12 cabinets with vintage 30 speakers - Homebrew Doomsday Device Gary Holt signature pedal
- Homebrew Electronics Medicine Bawl Wah Pedal
- Presonus EQ3B Parametric EQ
- Boss Octaver OC-2.
- Other Homebrew pedals
Previously used:
- Bernie Rico jr signature guitars and some customs
- PeaveyPeavey ElectronicsPeavey Electronics Corporation is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world, headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi in the United States.- History :...
Jsx head - PeaveyPeavey ElectronicsPeavey Electronics Corporation is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world, headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi in the United States.- History :...
xxx head and xxx cabinets - Before Engl and Peavey, he used MarshallMarshallMarshall may refer to:* "Marshall", a British/Commonwealth spelling for the military rank of marshal* Marshall * Marshall Aerospace, an aerospace contractor based in Cambridge, England* Marshall Amplification, a brand of guitar amplifier...
amps and he was seen using them with SlayerSlayerSlayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and... - Dunlop cry baby wah pedal
Musical influences
Holt's main guitar influences are Ritchie BlackmoreRitchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
, Michael Schenker
Michael Schenker
Michael Schenker is a German rock guitarist, best known for his tenure in UFO, in addition to his solo band. He first rose to fame as a founding member of the Scorpions, then achieved fame in the mid 1970s as the lead guitar player for UFO. Since leaving UFO in 1978, he has been leading the...
, Angus Young
Angus Young
Angus McKinnon Young is a Scottish-born Australian musician, and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the rock and roll band AC/DC. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other members of AC/DC in 2003 and is known for his energetic performances,...
, Tony Iommi
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and its sole continual member through multiple personnel changes.Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in...
, Uli Jon Roth, Matthias Jabs
Matthias Jabs
Matthias Jabs is a German guitarist and songwriter. He is a member of the heavy metal band Scorpions. Before joining the Scorpions, Jabs had played for the bands Lady, Fargo and Deadlock....
and Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American guitarist, musician, singer, author, reserve police officer, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, before embarking on a lengthy solo career...
. His favorite bands include Venom
Venom (band)
Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
, Motörhead, Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, early Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
and Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
.
Personal life
Gary Holt is in a relationship with Lisa Perticone and has 2 daughters. Lisa Perticone has a teenage daughter. The two currently are living Pinole, California.Outside of music, Holt enjoys foreign and period films
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
. He is also an avid watcher of cable news channels, pursuant to his interest in U.S. politics. According to Holt, the track "War is my Shepherd" off the album Tempo of the Damned
Tempo of the Damned
Tempo of the Damned is the sixth album by thrash metal band Exodus. It marked their first full-length album of new material in over 11 years, the last being Force of Habit released in 1992....
is a treatise of America's "pro-god" and "pro-war" stance and how he feels the two beliefs are incompatible with each other.
Holt endorsed Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in the 2008 presidential election, and stated:
- "I used to have a lot of respect for McCainJohn McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, but he realized after the dirty defeat that he suffered at the hands of George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in the South Carolina primary in the (2000) election that he can only get elected if he plays the Karl RoveKarl RoveKarl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
tactic b.s. He’s doing it. It’s just one debunked lie after the other. He’s the kind of guy who will tell you the sky is red, you look up and it’s blue, and he won’t admit he’s wrong. He’s playing dirty politics. PalinSarah PalinSarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
is just terrifying, the thought of this lady being a heart attack away from having the nuclear codes. She’s crazy and she’s dumb."
In the 2004 election, Holt vouched for John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, but conceded:
- "...they're all dirty crooks, all politicians. But at least (Kerry) wasn't a coward. He fought in VietnamVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
whereas George W. Bush Jr. was a draft dodgerDraft dodgerDraft evasion is a term that refers to an intentional failure to comply with the military conscription policies of the nation to which he or she is subject...
."
Discography
Gary Holt has played guitar on all of the albums listed, Unless otherwise stated.- 1982 - ExodusExodus (band)Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...
- 1982 Demo - 1985 - Exodus - Bonded By BloodBonded by BloodFor other uses of the phrase, see Bonded by Blood Bonded by Blood is the debut album by the San Francisco thrash metal band Exodus. Although the album was completed in the summer of 1984, it was not released until 1985 due to issues with Exodus and its record label...
- 1987 - Exodus - Pleasures of the FleshPleasures of the Flesh-Band Line-Up:*Steve "Zetro" Souza -Vocals*Gary Holt - Guitars*Rick Hunolt - Guitars*Rob McKillop - Bass*Tom Hunting - Drums-Charts:Album - Billboard -Credits:...
- 1988 - Exodus - Fabulous DisasterFabulous DisasterFabulous Disaster is the third album by Exodus. UK label Music for Nations released the album in 1988, but in the USA, it was released in January 1989 by Combat/Relativity Records....
- 1990 - Exodus - Impact Is ImminentImpact is ImminentImpact Is Imminent is the fourth album by thrash metal band Exodus and their first with Capitol Records. This is the first album to feature John Tempesta on drums and is the last studio album to feature Rob McKillop on bass, though he would appear on their next live album, "Good Friendly Violent...
- 1991 - Exodus - Good Friendly Violent FunGood Friendly Violent FunGood Friendly Violent Fun is a live album by thrash metal band Exodus.-Track listing:# Fabulous Disaster - 5:46# Chemi-Kill - 6:09# 'Til Death Do Us Part - 5:07# The Toxic Waltz - 4:39# Cajun Hell - 5:55# Corruption - 5:37# Brain Dead - 4:31...
- 1992 - Exodus - Lessons in ViolenceLessons in ViolenceLessons In Violence is a compilation album by thrash metal band Exodus. This is the last Exodus album to feature Rob McKillop on bass.-Track listing:#Bonded By Blood - 3:48#Exodus - 4:09#Chemi-Kill - 5:46#The Toxic Waltz - 4:51...
- 1992 - Exodus - Force of HabitForce of Habit-Band line-up:*Steve "Zetro" Souza - Vocals*Gary Holt - Guitars*Rick Hunolt - Guitars*Michael Butler - Bass*John Tempesta - Drums-Credits:* Recorded at Battery Studios, London, UK* Produced and engineered by Chris Tsangarides...
- 1997 - Exodus - Another Lesson in ViolenceAnother Lesson in ViolenceAnother Lesson in Violence is a live album by the thrash metal band Exodus.This album features a huge line-up change for Exodus. Paul Baloff returns on vocals who originally left after Bonded by Blood. Tom Hunting returns after taking ill just before the Fabulous Disaster tour in 1989. This is also...
- 2004 - Exodus - Tempo of the DamnedTempo of the DamnedTempo of the Damned is the sixth album by thrash metal band Exodus. It marked their first full-length album of new material in over 11 years, the last being Force of Habit released in 1992....
- 2005 - Exodus - Shovel Headed Kill MachineShovel Headed Kill MachineShovel Headed Kill Machine is the seventh studio album by the American thrash metal band Exodus, released on October 4, 2005 through Nuclear Blast. This album contains a huge shift in the lineup for Exodus...
- 2007 - Exodus - The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit AThe Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit AThe Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A is the eighth studio album by thrash metal band Exodus, released on October 23, 2007. This is the second album featuring Rob Dukes on vocals, but it also marks the second comeback of longtime original Exodus drummer Tom Hunting. Hunting's last appearance was on...
- 2008 - Exodus - Let There Be BloodLet There Be BloodLet There Be Blood is a re-recording of Exodus's 1985 album Bonded by Blood, featuring their modern lineup. The only band members who play on both Bonded by Blood and Let There Be Blood are guitarist Gary Holt and drummer Tom Hunting...
- 2009 - WarbringerWarbringerWarbringer is an American thrash metal band. The band formed in 2004. Warbringer is signed to Century Media Records. Century Media signed Warbringer after seeing them at a local show in LA. Originally, a Century Media rep was at the show to see another LA thrash metal band but decided to sign...
- Waking into NightmaresWaking into Nightmares-Personnel:* John Kevill - Vocals* John Laux - Guitar* Adam Carroll - Guitar* Ben Bennett - Bass, * Nic Ritter - Drums* Gary Holt - Guitar Solo on track 11...
(Producer) - 2010 - Exodus - Exhibit B: The Human ConditionExhibit B: The Human Condition-Charts & Certifications:-Personnel:*Rob Dukes – Vocals*Gary Holt – Lead and rhythm guitars*Lee Altus – Lead and rhythm guitars*Jack Gibson – Bass*Tom Hunting – Drums, Percussion*Brendon Small - Guitar solo on "Devil's Teeth"...