In a candid interview with Ultimate Guitar’s Greg Prato, Exodus guitarist Gary Holt reflected on his memorable journey stepping into Slayer’s lineup to cover for the late Jeff Hanneman. After joining Slayer’s live shows in 2011 and becoming a full-time member in 2013, Holt shared his experiences, the pressures he faced, and the unwavering fan support that kept him grounded.
Recounting his first show at Australia’s Soundwave Festival, Holt felt little to no pressure despite the monumental task of filling Hanneman’s shoes. “I didn’t really feel any pressure. I was super-prepared. I just went out and did my thing and had a great show. It was awesome,” Holt remarked. “I just went out and did my thing and had a great show. It was awesome.” Though he acknowledged the weight of keeping Hanneman’s seat warm, he stressed his confidence: “I mean, maybe in the back of your head, you feel a little pressure over whose shoes you’re attempting to fill. Whose seat you’re keeping warm, I should say. But I was ready. I was 100% ready for it”
On Slayer fans’ infamous reputation for being “ruthless,” Holt described their support as surprisingly positive. Out of countless shows, he only encountered two notable hecklers, both memorable for their antics: “In all the countless shows I did, I’ve only had two hecklers. Two hecklers that I noticed.”
In one incident in Germany, Holt recalled a fan persistently flipping him off throughout the set. When the situation began to impact his performance, Holt arranged to have the fan escorted out:
“This guy with this awful skullet. He was down there, like, flipping me off the whole show. And usually, I’m super thick-skinned — this doesn’t bother me. But I sent a production manager down, and he was on the radio, and they were about to throw the guy out because he was starting to fuck up my show. And then the guy realized that, and he booked. But you know, dude, you know this wasn’t a surprise fill-in. You knew before tickets went on sale, you still bought the fuckin’ ticket. So, why are you here if it’s that bad?”
A similar incident occurred in Milan, where a fan screamed obscenities at Holt from the front row for the entire show. In a rare moment of confrontation, Holt jumped down to confront the heckler, who quickly lost his nerve.
“We played a show in Milan Italy, and they had a guy front row, dead center stage, just screaming ‘Fuck you!’ at me, the whole show. And at that one, I jumped down on the subwoofers at the end of the show, like a foot from his face, and asked if he had anything to say now. And he didn’t. He was pissing me off. The younger me might have thrown a punch. He was stuck. There was nowhere he could have gone. You know, 5,000 people behind him. But he had to get front row to make his thoughts known.”
Reflecting on these rare encounters, Holt acknowledged the overwhelming support he’s received from Slayer fans and dismissed the haters, saying, “You paid for the ticket. You’re a f**kin’ moron if you hate it that much. But two people out of, like, countless shows. That’s a pretty good track record, I guess.”