Exodus<\/strong> guitarist Gary Holt<\/strong> has weighed in on his band’s relationship with Metallica<\/strong> \u2014 past and present \u2014 in a new interview with Metal Hammer Spain<\/em>, and he isn’t pulling punches in either direction.<\/p>\n Asked about Metallica<\/strong>‘s commercial explosion in the late ’80s and early ’90s and its effect on the Bay Area scene, Holt<\/strong> was direct about the path Exodus<\/strong> chose not to take.<\/p>\n “I think the thrash bands that came after [us] \u2014 ’cause, obviously, the first two in the Bay Area were Metallica <\/strong>and us<\/span> \u2014 were really chasing what Metallica<\/strong> did,” he said. “That’s why most of ’em started doing ballads, and they started following the blueprint a little, whereas Exodus<\/strong> kind of did our own thing. And for better or for worse, we made our own<\/em> decisions. We tried our hardest not<\/em> to be like Metallica<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n He went on to pay Metallica<\/strong> their due before taking it back with a grin.<\/p>\n “Everybody makes their own musical decisions. Metallica<\/strong> were the best of all of us. I mean, I don’t think so anymore \u2014 I think Exodus<\/strong> crushes them, but that’s my own humble opinion. But Master of Puppets<\/em>, to me, is the best metal album ever made. I fucking love it. I’m jealous, that album is so good. It makes me jealous.<\/p>\n “Some people like Ride the Lightning<\/em> better. I think Master of Puppets<\/em> is a masterpiece. That album and Stained Class<\/em> by Judas Priest<\/strong> are, to me, the two best metal albums of all time. [Exodus<\/strong> guitarist] Lee Altus<\/strong> likes Ride the Lightning<\/em> better [than Master of Puppets<\/em>]. To me, it’s no choice. It’s, like, no \u2014 it’s fucking Master of Puppets<\/em>.”<\/p>\n Those sentiments are consistent with what Holt<\/strong> told Metal Hammer UK<\/em> back in 2021, where he also made clear that respect for Metallica<\/strong> doesn’t mean he’s forgotten who came out on top on a particular New Year’s Eve in San Francisco. The occasion was a 1985 show the two bands shared alongside Megadeth and Metal Church as they rang in 1986, and Holt<\/strong> maintains Exodus<\/strong> stole the night.<\/p>\n “We stomped [Metallica<\/strong>] into the dirt,” he said at the time. “We came out looking like the headliners. And we were partying hard after, and James<\/strong> [Hetfield] came up, and we were just getting wasted. [And he said,] ‘That’ll be the last time you guys open for us.’ And it was. We never played with Metallica<\/strong> again until the recent decade, and that was, like, festivals somewhere.”<\/p>\n He elaborated on those comments to the “Alive & Streaming” YouTube series in February 2021: “We crushed Metallica<\/strong>. And look, I’m not gloating \u2014 we crushed ’em, and they knew it. It was their big homecoming. They just finished recording Master of Puppets<\/em>, and we came out, and we had more amps, we had a bigger riser.”<\/p>\n When Metal Hammer<\/em> asked whether there would have been a thrash scene without Exodus<\/strong>, Holt<\/strong> didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely. I’ll own that. We created the violent scene.”<\/p>\n