Exodus (band)

Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1979 in Richmond, California. Their current lineup consists of guitarists Gary Holt and Lee Altus, bassist Jack Gibson, drummer Tom Hunting, and lead vocalist Rob Dukes. Exodus is also notable for featuring a then-unknown Kirk Hammett, who was the band's lead guitarist from its inception until his departure in 1983, when he left to join fellow Bay Area thrash metal band Metallica as Dave Mustaine's replacement. Holt (who replaced original guitarist Tim Agnello in 1981) is the most consistent member throughout various lineup changes and breakups, and is the only member to appear on all of Exodus' recordings. Much of the band's career has also been affected by feuds between both band members and record companies, two extended hiatuses, deaths of former band members, and drug addictions.

• Multiple journalists, as well as members of thrash bands both among and outside the Big Four, often maintain that Exodus should be named as one of the Big Five; Dave Mustaine even suggested back in 1990 that Exodus, not Anthrax, should be in that elite club.
  • Zahra Huselid of Screen Rant [1]

• Exodus, arguably the most musically violent band in the Bay Area thrash movement, were also the most vocal in their hatred of fishnet-wearing glam-rockers, often calling for their fans to “Kill the poseurs”, wherever they may be found.
  • Ken McIntyre of Metal Hammer (September 20, 2022) [2]

• During the emergence of the Bay Area thrash scene in California, Exodus were unanimously regarded as the top band by both fans and their contemporaries. Gary Holt is arguably the best pure thrash guitarist in the biz, contributing fret-defying solos across the ever-changing swing of the right hand that kept Exodus busier than most bands. From the visceral debut of ‘Bonded by Blood’ to other standouts like ‘Fabulous Disaster’ and ‘Tempo of the Damned,’ Exodus are still thrash royalty over three decades later.
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