Happy Birthday Gary Holt

Gary Wayne Holt (born May 4, 1964) is an American musician from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the guitarist, bandleader, and main songwriter for thrash metal band Exodus and was a member of Slayer from 2011 to 2019, replacing Jeff Hanneman on a temporary basis due to an illness in 2011, and on a permanent basis after Hanneman's death in May 2013.

After guitarist Tim Agnello left Exodus in 1981, Holt joined the band and has been the main songwriter and the most senior member of the group ever since. Following Kirk Hammett's 1983 departure from Exodus to join Metallica, Holt kept the band going and for many 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.

On February 12, 2011, it was announced that Holt would be temporarily filling in for Jeff Hanneman in the band Slayer. 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. Holt was later confirmed to be a permanent member of Slayer, following Hanneman's death on May 2, 2013, and stayed with the band until their split, following the conclusion of their 2018–2019 farewell tour. He also recorded guitar tracks on Slayer's 2015 album Repentless, but did not have any writing contributions on the album, except for guitar solos.

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. In 2019 he was included on "Cheapside Sloggers", a song on Volbeat's Rewind, Replay, Rebound.

Holt endorses ESP Guitars as of September 2014 and has a signature version of the Eclipse model, ending his relationship with Schecter Guitar Research, where he previously had various signature models. He has also used Ibanez, B.C. Rich, Jackson Guitars, Bernie Rico Jr., and Yamaha guitars.

For amplification, he currently uses a Marshall Silver Jubilee in Slayer and an ENGL Savage 120 in Exodus as well as a Kemper Profiling amp. In the past, he has used a modified Marshall JCM800, Mesa Boogie Mark III, Marshall JVM, Peavey Triple XXX, and ENGL Savage 120. Before using the Silver Jubilee, DSL100H and Marshall JVM amps with Slayer, Holt made use of Jeff Hanneman's touring rack.

Holt's main guitar influences are Ritchie Blackmore, 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.

Discography

Exodus

1982 - 1982 Demo

1985 - Bonded by Blood

1987 - Pleasures of the Flesh

1989 - Fabulous Disaster

1990 - Impact Is Imminent

1991 - Good Friendly Violent Fun

1992 - Lessons in Violence

1992 - Force of Habit

1997 - Another Lesson in Violence

2004 - Tempo of the Damned

2005 - Shovel Headed Kill Machine

2007 - The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A

2008 - Let There Be Blood

2008 - Shovel Headed Tour Machine: Live at Wacken & Other Assorted Atrocities

2010 - Exhibit B: The Human Condition

2014 - Blood In, Blood Out

2021 - Persona Non Grata

Slayer

2015 – Repentless

2019 - The Repentless Killogy

Asylum

1990 - Asylum (Demo)

Destruction

2008 - D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.

Heathen

2009 - The Evolution of Chaos

Hypocrisy

2005 - Virus

Laughing Dead

1990 - Demo 1990 (Demo)

Metal Allegiance

2015 – Metal Allegiance [Gift of Pain]

Panic

1991 - Epidemic

Under

1998 - Under (EP)

Warbringer

2009 - Waking into Nightmares

Witchery

2010 - Witchkrieg