Gary Holt spoke about how he felt about Slayer to the stage 5 years after their farewell tour in 2019. The first performance took place on September 22nd of last year at Riot Fest in Chicago.
During an appearance on Talk is Jericho [via Blabbermouth ], the guitarist revealed that he was also "surprised" by the band's return, even though he "knew what was necessary" to start studying the songs.
“People think we planned everything, but I only found out about it shortly before the public. It was just enough time to go back and study the songs, because I wanted to be really prepared. But yes, I was also very surprised by the decision to get the band back together.”
“I’m sure there have always been offers for Slayer , but they [ Kerry King and Tom Araya ] felt it was the right time, and I’m more than happy to accept.”
Holt also stated that the way the band schedules shows gives him more flexibility to dedicate himself to his other projects, such as Exodus .
“The current method, which has been few, small, and short shows [every year], is great because I'm totally committed to Exodus . It allows me to do that and then play with Slayer, and play with fire, which, by the way, is expensive. In Exodus, we don't use pyrotechnics.”
Gary Holt also revealed details about the rehearsals for Slayer's return to the stage. The musician stated that he "dove into the internet" to "watch songs that I had already played about a hundred times."
READ ALSO: Gary Holt reveals behind-the-scenes details of Steve “Zetro” Souza's departure from Exodus
