EXODUS Cancels Spring/Summer 2023 European Tour

EXODUS has canceled its previously announced summer 2023 European tour so that guitarist Gary Holt can "tend to his family" after his brother was recently hospitalized in Italy.

Charles Holt was on a solo vacation in Rome when suffered a broken femur after being struck by a taxi from behind. A short time later, Gary launched a GoFundMe campaign in order to raise funds to help the family with the financial strain of getting Charles back home.

Earlier today, EXODUS frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza released the following statement via social media: "To all our friends & fans in Europe… With very very heavy hearts, our upcoming European run which starts next week will unfortunately have to be cancelled.

"As a lot of you already know, over the past week, our brother Gary Holt had an unfortunate incident that happened to his brother in Italy, which resulted with Gary and his wife having to fly unexpectedly to take care of the situation. As some of you may or may have not read, the situation has taken a toll on our beloved brother.

"We are a family-oriented band, and family will always come first with EXODUS. We hope you all understand the circumstances, at the moment, Gary needs to tend to his family. This is not what we wanted, as we were all looking forward coming to play for all of you great European fans that have supported this band for the past 40 years. Don't worry Europe, EXODUS will be back! Thank you all for understanding, we love and appreciate each and every one of you."

Gary, who flew to Rome to be with his brother, added: "As much as it hurts, we have cancelled our tour of Europe. My mental health has been in tatters as I work to get the only other living Holt relative home. Hoping to fly tomorrow, approved for United but the connection, it will be at the partner airlines discretion. I'm just badly in need of a reset and to get my head on straight again.

"I'm sorry, I've played through broken ribs and anything and everything. But I have to prioritize my brother and myself. Thank you. Time to channel this into some music".

Holt joined EXODUS in 1981, shortly after the band's formation, and has been the group's main songwriter ever since. Holt has performed on every EXODUS album, and is considered highly influential in the world of thrash metal.

Holt began filling in for SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman at live shows in 2011, and became the band's full-time co-guitarist as of 2013, while remaining a member of EXODUS. Holt played on SLAYER's final album, "Repentless", which came out in 2015.

EXODUS's latest album, "Persona Non Grata", came out in November 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap. For the third time in the band's history, they returned to Swedish artist Pär Olofsson to create the album artwork.

"Persona Non Grata" was the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' first release since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Two months ago, Hachette Books announced that it had acquired Gary's upcoming memoir. "A Fabulous Disaster: From The Garage To Madison Square Garden, The Hard Way" is described in a press release as "a no-holds-barred memoir from the preeminent thrasher's life in metal, from its humble (but not quiet) beginnings in the San Francisco Bay Area through today's current resurgence in worldwide popularity, as he lived big, played fast and crashed hard, written in collaboration with Adem Tepedelen."