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Former EXODUS Guitarist RICK HUNOLT: 'GARY HOLT Is By Far One Of The Best Songwriters In All Of Thrash Metal'
July 24, 2024In a new interview with Pierre Gutiérrez of Rock Talks, former EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt was asked for his opinion of the band's last five studio albums that were recorded after he left the group. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, dude, what do I think about them? I think they're heavy as hell. I think [EXODUS guitarist] Gary Holt is by far one of the best songwriters in all of thrash metal bar none, for sure. He's a beast; Gary's a beast. I will say that I was kind of disappointed when he left to join SLAYER. I will say that. But in the long run, it's done EXODUS a lot of good. It's gotten a lot more fans, yada yada yada. But anyway, to answer your question, I love the material. [EXODUS's latest album] 'Persona Non Grata' is insane. The music is awesome."
Asked what he thought of the Rob Dukes-era EXODUS albums, Rick said: "Rob Dukes brought another level to EXODUS. I think it made it — I'm not gonna say new metal, but I will say more aggressive, over the top, angry. Rob's one of my favorite singers. And, honestly, for the record, if I ever do another thrash band, guess who's gonna be my singer. He already said [he would do it]. I already nailed him down. So, it's all good."
Hunolt — the other half of the famed EXODUS "H-Team" who is on every studio recording from 1985 through 2004 and co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs such as "A Lesson In Violence" and "Deliver Us To Evil" — left EXODUS after the band's highly acclaimed 2004 reunion album, "Tempo Of The Damned". Following his departure, Hunolt was replaced by HEATHEN guitarist Lee Altus.
Rick previously discussed his exit from EXODUS during a November 2021 appearance on "Put Up Your Dukes", the podcast hosted by Dukes. He said at the time: "During the recording of 'Tempo', Gary had just gotten clean a little while prior to that, and I was still using. But I've gotta say, Gary Holt — my hat's off to the man for… He never sweated me. Not once did Gary say, 'Dude, you're a piece of shit. I'm gonna fire you from the band if you don't get your shit together.' He never said nothing. He let it take its course, you know what I mean?
"I was a mess," Rick continued. "We all were, but everybody got better, and I didn't. I fell down the rabbit hole even worse, I think, because I was just so depressed. I couldn't stop. I don't know what was up… To the point where I was gonna lose my position in the band I'd been in for over 20 years — my best friends, my life. Yeah, it was dark as fuck.
"One day, after spending my life, giving everything that I had and the whole world to EXODUS, one day I woke up and I wasn't in EXODUS anymore," Hunolt added. "And that morning was, like… Dude, I can't even describe the emotions that I [was feeling]. I woke up and I wasn't in EXODUS anymore, dude. It damn near took me out, bro."
Rick revealed that he went through a particularly difficult period after splitting with EXODUS. "I had to reinvent myself at 40-plus years old, [with] two little kids," he said. "I ended up moving out of Oakland. I had to get the fuck out of there, 'cause we were living at the studio; it was bad. And then we moved in with my wife's mom and I got a job at the [discount chain] Dollar Tree and I ended up working there for, like, two or three years. I mean, I can go on and on and on. But long story short, I met a guy who knew who I was and offered me a job on his ranch. And the rest is history. He taught me how to live my life and make money."
Hunolt makes a guest appearance on "Persona Non Grata", which was released in November 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records.
The San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' latest disc was the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was their first release since the departure of Dukes, the group's lead singer of nine years, and the return of Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.
Back in April 2019, Hunolt rejoined Holt and other EXODUS members Tom Hunting (drums) and Souza to perform several of the group's classic songs during a METAL ALLEGIANCE concert in San Francisco, California. More recently, Hunolt joined EXODUS on stage in August 2021 at Psycho Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The original lineup of EXODUS consisted of guitarists Kirk Hammett (now in METALLICA) and Tim Agnello, Hunting and vocalist Keith Stewart. Holt joined the band in 1981, while Kirk left two years before EXODUS's debut album, "Bonded By Blood", saw the light of day.
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