Gary Holt, the longtime guitarist for thrash metal pioneers Exodus, recently offered a humorous take on his uncredited contribution to one of Metallica‘s most recognizable anthems.
During a recent appearance on the “Heavy Stories” podcast, the veteran musician reflected on his early career and the specific circumstances that led him to inadvertently inspire a section of the classic track “Creeping Death“, featured on the landmark 1984 album Ride The Lightning.
In 1983, both Gary Holt and Kirk Hammett played together in Exodus, collaborating on a demo track titled “Die By His Hand“. Shortly after that recording, Kirk Hammett departed to join fellow Bay Area metalheads Metallica, stepping in to replace Dave Mustaine right before the recording sessions for Kill ‘Em All. While Kirk Hammett authored the central riff for the original Exodus track, the lyrical foundation was laid by his former bandmate.
Discussing his reaction to hearing his words surface in a massive hit the following year, Holt laughed while stating:
“It’s Kirk‘s riff, it’s my lyrics. I’ve never been credited, so yeah, that’ll tell you how I feel. I should get paid for that s**t. The song was ‘dying by his hand’ and they – James – changed the line to ‘die by my hand’. You know, I mean, I’m entitled to some money, James. I’ll send you my bank info! It’ll be a fat cheque. But those are Kirk’s riffs and he was more than welcome to them. They were his. I had zero ownership of any of that.”
Expanding on his profound history with the Metallica guitarist, he detailed how Kirk Hammett actually provided him with his very first guitar lessons just half a year before he was brought into the early lineup of Exodus.
“When I first met Kirk, we became immediate best friends. Shortly after we started hanging out, he asked, ‘Do you want to learn to play guitar?’ He taught me my first chords and a couple licks and I ran with it. He loaned me this piece of s**t guitar. He had an extra one around the house. He owned two. One was his Gibson V and one was this Montgomery Ward’s guitar with the horrible action – it was terrible. But I learned how to play on it and six months later, they asked me to join Exodus.”
Currently, Exodus is gearing up to drop their brand new studio album, Goliath. The record is officially scheduled to be released on March 20 via Napalm Records.
