The long-standing debate regarding Exhorder‘s influence on the evolution of Pantera‘s sound is a conversation Kyle Thomas finds entirely unproductive.
Speaking with “The Growl Podcast” in a recent interview, the Exhorder vocalist addressed the recurring narrative that his New Orleans thrash metal band inspired Pantera‘s transition from their early power metal roots into the aggressive thrash metal pioneers they became in the 1990s. For Thomas, dissecting the timeline misses the broader reality of how the two bands managed their respective careers.
“Some people argue about this point all day long. To me it’s pointless to try [to figure out which came first] ‘chicken or the egg’. But at the end of the day, I think what’s most important is who got opportunities and who made the best of them?” Thomas explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “And I think it’s safe to say that we did not make the best of our opportunities at the time. We got a few breaks and some of those breaks we capitalized on and some of them we did not capitalize on well. Some of them we missed the boat completely on. And we shot ourselves in the foot a lot back then.”
He continued, highlighting the differences in their work ethics during that critical era: “We surely didn’t work terribly hard back then. We did a handful of tours, but we mostly imploded, to no one’s fault, but our own. So, today, I think if you look back on it, you’ve got a handful of people that it’s very important to them that we might have been one of the first bands doing this. I don’t feel like we necessarily invented anything outright. I think we were just good at what we did and it spoke to people.”
The singer noted that the argument largely persists among older listeners, while younger generations are far less concerned with the historical trivia.
“I don’t know the older people are the ones that really fight over it. I think the younger people just don’t really care about all that stuff. And for a lot of reasons. I think younger people are just a lot wiser in that way, or they just weren’t around enough to feel like it was significant enough to get to choosing a side.”
This isn’t the first time Kyle has attempted to lay the subject to rest. In a February 2024 appearance on the “Scars And Guitars” podcast, he acknowledged the frequent, albeit well-intentioned, fan interactions regarding the topic.
“Every once in a while I meet somebody who feels the need to pull me aside and tell me how important it is that they tell me that they think that we were before Pantera. Like, whatever. And I always try to take it and deal with it in the most polite way possible ’cause people aren’t saying that necessarily to incite me in some kind of way; usually they think they’re telling me something that I’d like to hear.”
Thomas also expressed full support for the current Pantera touring lineup, which features surviving members Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown alongside guitarist Zakk Wylde and drummer Charlie Benante.
“I think there’s room in this world for both bands. I think it’s a good thing Pantera is back in business. I think it’s good for hard rock and heavy metal, and the more, the merrier. They worked extremely hard — a lot harder than we did — for their success, and who cares whether the chicken or the egg came first. To me, they’re both delicious.
The vocalist also highlighted his enduring friendship with Anselmo, noting the Pantera frontman’s crucial early support.
“I’ve been friends with Phil for a long time,” he said. “I always got along nicely with Darrell and Rex. That platinum record on the wall right there was a gift from Phil for Far Beyond Driven, presented to me and my band Penalty at the time, which became Floodgate. It was just his way of basically saying, ‘Hey, thanks, man.’ And I know what he meant. We were a big influence on him personally, and he returned the favor by spreading our demos around to people and turning people on to us. He was, at one time, probably the biggest cheerleader this band ever had.”
The connection between the two frontmen runs deep, rooted in their shared New Orleans upbringing. In a 2022 interview with Heavy Culture, Thomas revealed that Anselmo nearly took over vocal duties for Exhorder during a brief period of internal friction.
“Phil almost joined Exhorder for a minute,” Thomas said at the time. “The band was reforming and I wasn’t interested, so Phil was asked by the band if he wanted to sing, and he said yes. And when I found out Phil wanted my job, I took my job back. That’s kind of how that went.
For his part, Phil Anselmo has previously denied that Exhorder served as a primary musical blueprint for Pantera. In a 2013 interview with Examiner.com, he stated: “It’s absolutely untrue. Exhorder was a killer band, don’t get me wrong. And for their time in the local scene in New Orleans in 1988, as far as skill level, they really upped the game for everyone. To this day, I’m still really good friends with their singer, who is now the singer for Trouble. Kyle and I come from the same school of heavy metal vocals — Rob Halford, Don Doty from Dark Angel, and Tom Araya — so there are similarities between us, but musically, I don’t hear it at all.”
Today, Kyle Thomas operates as the sole remaining founding member of Exhorder, following the departure of guitarist Vinnie LaBella in early 2020. The band released their fourth studio album, Defectum Omnium, via Nuclear Blast Records in March 2024.
