In a brand new interview with Metal Casino, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt has offered an update on the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band’s follow-up to 2014’s Blood In Blood Out album.
He said: “I’ve been writing the new album for a long time, Tom Hunting [drums] and I. And we’re just taking our time. We’re in no hurry. It’s been four years, and if it takes two more, we’re gonna spend the time and do it right.
He continued: “The new material is just savage. It should be illegal, it’s so heavy. It’s f*cking criminal. Brutal — fast as f*ck.
Last year, vocalist Steve “Zetro” Souza said that EXODUS needs to wait until Gary Holt is done touring with SLAYER in order to put new material out.
“Unfortunately, because our guitar player and main songwriter [Gary Holy] is finishing the SLAYER tour, we’re probably going to have to wait until that’s all done, he said.
“So I would say 2019, late, ’cause they’re booked through next year, so we’re gonna wait until that’s all done. I’m not saying we won’t play or we won’t tour; we just won’t be putting out [any new music].”
Asked of kind of music fans can expect from the new album, Souza replied:
“What kind of music have you heard for the last 35 years? Absolutely heavy, brutally, violently, crazily in your face, like normal EXODUS stuff. There’s gonna be no slowing down here, I’m sure.
“I think that the essence is just the true spirit of it all, the true spirit of what we’re doing. I don’t think that Exodus, even when I wasn’t singing with them, or there’s been… Rick Hunolt was the original guitar player – he’s not there anymore – I still think that the energy and the rawness and the ferocity is there. Tom Hunting [drums] is still there, so it’s still EXODUS.”
EXODUS‘s latest album, Blood In Blood Out, sold around 8,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released in North America on October 14, 2014 via Nuclear Blast, the CD art was illustrated by Swedish artist Pär Olofsson, known worldwide for his incredible renderings that have graced the covers of countless heavy metal albums, including EXODUS‘ Let There Be Blood.
