In a recent interview with The Metal Voice, Exodus drummer Tom Hunting spoke about Kirk Hammett’s role in the band and his departure to join Metallica.
“I was happy for him. We could kind of see that they were going to be a great band and it was a good opportunity for him, so I would never stand in the way [and say] ‘Please don’t go,'” Hunting explained.
When asked if he felt sad about Hammett leaving, Hunting replied, “Of course, because we were on a trajectory too, like on a bay area trajectory. They were getting in new halls and go to the East Coast and just like whatever be damned and they kick the door down for all the rest of us.”
He continued, “I think in that moment it was important for me to be supportive of him doing that because I knew he was replacing a well-liked guitarist and a founding member of the band. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy for him.”
Hammett was with Exodus for around four years, and he admitted feeling guilty when he left. “I have known Tom Hunting since I was 16 years old, I’ve known [Exodus guitarist] Gary Holt since I was 17. We’re all close to this day, but there was a lot of guilt there for a while. A little bit of remorse. But I really felt that Metallica was my calling. I feel more comfortable playing in Metallica than I ever did in Exodus, so go figure.”
Gary Holt also shared that the band was upset about Hammett leaving, but the feelings soon faded.
“Yeah, I was mad for a minute, we all were. Kirk wrote everything in the early days, but I was starting to come up with my own riffs,” he said. Holt added that Hammett’s departure put him in control of Exodus’s musical direction: “But we had a big party to celebrate at his mother’s house in El Sobrante, and it was kind of like a passing of the torch. It put me in the driver’s seat, and suddenly Exodus started going like that [makes speeding up motion with hand].”
Exodus is set to start their North American tour on November 2 in Hillsborough County, Florida, and the tour will end on December 7 in Los Angeles, California.
