In a brand new interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal’s Metal Global, legendary guitarist Gary Holt opened up about the unexpected call to join Slayer for their highly publicized 2024 reunion shows. Holt, who balances his time as a core member of Exodus, admitted that the initial offer to play Riot Fest and Aftershock caught him off guard, but the intense preparation ultimately paid off.
“Yeah, I was. I was super surprised. [But] it was a lot of fun. We were really good. We rehearsed really hard. I mean, we worked really hard. And we were really good, and we had a really good time, and that’s what was most important. So now I think — we have one [gig] this year [in 2026], one show in Texas [at the Sick New World festival], and maybe next year they’ll decide they wanna do another. I’m always available. And it gives me most of my time free for Exodus, which is perfect for me. ‘Cause this is where I’m supposed to be,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Slayer is indeed gearing up for a select number of appearances in 2026. Earlier this week, it was announced that the thrash metal titans will hit the stage on September 6 for the 20th anniversary of the Rocklahoma festival at the Rockin Red Dirt Ranch in Pryor, Oklahoma.
Both the Rocklahoma and Sick New World sets will serve as massive celebrations for the 40th anniversary of their genre-defining masterpiece, Reign In Blood. At Rocklahoma, Slayer will share the stage with heavy hitters like Black Label Society, The Pretty Reckless, The Insane Clown Posse, and Suicidal Tendencies.
Holt has been vocal about the meticulous preparation that went into resurrecting Slayer‘s live show. Speaking on the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast in May 2025, he shut down rumors that the reunion was a long-calculated scheme.
“Absolutely. People say, ‘Oh, this and that. You planned this all along.’ I’m like, look, I knew a little while before everybody else, but I didn’t know forever. I knew early enough to sit down at home and start studying the songs, ’cause I wanted to be really prepared. But, yeah, I was surprised.”
He also highlighted how his relentless touring schedule with Exodus kept him in fighting shape for the heavy lifting required for Slayer.
“Well, it [had] been years, but we rehearsed really hard for those shows. We put in the effort. I never stopped. I was on tour [with Exodus] a month after the final Slayer show. Only the pandemic slowed me down. So, my chops were up. So, it was just refamiliarizing yourself with the material a little bit.”
“I’m sure there were offers for the band forever, but they felt like it was time, and I’m more than happy to do it. And at least as of now, the current method, which has been [for Slayer to play] a brief, minor, small little couple of shows [every year], that’s fine because I’m fully committed to Exodus. And so it allows me to do that and then go out [with Slayer] and play with fire, which, that s**t’s expensive. Exodus does not get pyro.”
The pressure of returning to the stage wasn’t lost on the band. In an October 2024 chat with Chuck Armstrong on Loudwire Nights, Holt described the initial comeback shows as “surreal. It was awesome,” while admitting that the magnitude of the moment brought some anxiety—especially for frontman Tom Araya.
“We rehearsed really hard for it, like full production rehearsal. In the past, when I did rehearse — Slayer rehearsed in this tiny little music studio room with little half stacks. This was cool ’cause I got to play with the entire rig — three amps, six cabs all on. I got to redesign the rig based on my Exodus rig. So it was the exact same identical thing tone-wise, just three times as large, which was awesome.
“We were nervous,” Holt admitted. “Tom [Araya, Slayerbassist/vocalist] was nervous, and he sounded amazing. Sometimes you’ve just gotta forget about the time and how long it’s been and just let muscle memory kick in and just do it. I mean, I only played one song I’d never played, and that was ‘213‘. And ‘Reborn‘ I’d only played, I think, once, so that was almost a new song — once or twice. Everything else was just refreshers.”
Re-learning the iconic catalog required Holt to dive deep into his own history—and occasionally double-check his work online.
“I started working on the songs a long, long time ago, when the shows were first announced: ‘All right, I’d better make sure I know how to play this shit still.’ And I literally had to like dive into Internet tab on songs I’d played a hundred times. But then I’d [go], ‘Man, I’m playing it wrong.’ Then I just forget about it and just play, and then all right, my hands remember where the notes are. But it was spectacular,” Holt said. “It was amazing. It was surreal. It was like this moment. The crowd was just very happy. And we were happy, and everything was good.”
Since that triumphant 2024 return, the undisputed lineup of Holt, Araya, guitarist Kerry King, and drummer Paul Bostaph has kept the momentum rolling through a highly selective string of 2025 dates.
Last year, the band performed at Hershey, Pennsylvania, and the Louder Than Life festival in Kentucky. They also crossed the pond for massive European shows in Cardiff and London, played the Festival D’été De Québec in Canada, and delivered a special six-song set honoring Black Sabbath at their final “Back To The Beginning” concert in Birmingham, England.
