(Grand Central Publishing)
What a treat this one is, legendary thrash guitarist Gary Holt giving his story from the glory days of Exodus to the dark era that followed to the rise from the ashes in his time in Slayer and Exodus’ rebirth. There’s a lot to unpack in this book, which is very tightly held together thanks to the writing of former BraveWords contributor Adem Tepedelen, and which also features a foreword by Kirk Hammett.
I had no idea about the dark, drug-fuelled side of Exodus’ history, and the book serves as a positive redemption story in this regard. It was very interesting to read about the band’s initial burst out the gates, followed by plenty of bad luck and decisions, and it was shocking to read about the size of the crowds during some of Exodus’ lesser-popular eras.
Holt’s fall from metal grace to manual labourer was tough, although he handles it with modesty. It was fascinating to read about his experience in Slayer as the hired-gun-eventually-turned-new-guy, and I found myself speed-reading those parts as I was constantly so excited to get to the next sentence. Through the whole book, Holt comes across as very personable and humble (even if he is extremely aware that he is one of the genre’s forefathers and you’re not about to forget it), and reading this felt like sitting down with the man and a beer at the end of every day.
He’s also quite open for a metal dude: one particularly harrowing moment comes when he admits that Exodus has a long history of maybe not being as loyal to their own as they should be, and it’s moments like that that really set this one apart. I get that rock-bio exhaustion is very real; I love this stuff and can’t even keep up anymore. However, this one is a must-read for any fan of thrash, Exodus, or Slayer (and if you’re reading this, well…).
Rating: 9.0
The post REVIEW: GARY HOLT With ADEM TEPEDELEN – A Fabulous Disaster: From The Garage To Madison Square Garden, The Hard Way appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
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