Exodus guitarist Gary Holt has opened up about the frustrating censorship battle the band faced with YouTube over their ‘3111’ music video. After repeated flags and a final threat to delete their entire channel, the band was forced to release an edited version. They made an even more graphic, uncensored cut available elsewhere.
In an interview, Holt explained the escalating conflict with YouTube’s content moderation. “Our director, Jim Louveau, he said from the beginning, ‘I think this might get flagged by YouTube,'” Holt recalled. “Most of this stuff came from YouTube, which are parent companies and it’s okay to host these photos and stuff on your websites, but not with us on your same website. That makes no sense.”
The situation intensified as YouTube continued to reject the video. “YouTube flagged it and they flagged it again and flagged it to the point that in the final warning they threatened to take away our channel entirely,” Holt said. “Like ‘We’ll delete you.’ We don’t want that. So we did an edited version.”
Rather than backing down completely, Exodus took a bold approach. “The original version’s on a X account and because they banned it, which it wasn’t so bad, you know, I decided to make one that was really bad. So we found some really, really, truly horrific photos and stuff,” Holt explained. Fans interested in the uncensored version can find it on the band’s website at exodus3111.com.
The controversy surrounding the ‘3111’ music video stems from its subject matter and visual approach. Exodus released their music video for “3111” on social media platform X after YouTube rejected it multiple times for violating community guidelines due to graphic depictions of cartel violence in Juárez, Mexico, as reported by The Mosh. The track itself is inspired by an estimated 3,111 murders that occurred in Juárez in 2010 alone, making it a deeply serious commentary on real-world tragedy.
The band’s decision to tackle such a dark subject matter reflects their commitment to addressing real-world issues through their music. Kickass Forever documented the band’s statement: “We decided to go hard with the leadoff single, ‘3111’. The song is about the narco killings in Juarez, and ‘3111’ is the estimated number of murders for 2010 alone.” This unflinching approach to the subject matter is what ultimately led to YouTube’s content moderation issues.
