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Exodus Explain Maryland Deathfest Cancellation

  • Axl Rosenberg
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Gary Holt MDF Explanation

Talk about poor timing: just as Gary Holt was reassuring fans that he wouldn’t quit Exodus for Slayer, the band released an announcement that they were canceling their scheduled appearance at this year’s Maryland Deathfest due to a “variety of personal issues and matters with one of the members.” Needless to say, this confluence of events raised a few eyebrows, my own included.

So now the band has released a statement further explaining the cancellation:

“We have recently observed a whirlwind of speculation, conspiracy theories, and just plain ole dumb-assed comments on the internet regarding Exodus’ future and that of Gary Holt’s commitment to this band. The following is an attempt to shed some light on actual facts, as well as trying to clear the air.

“The reason we cancelled our appearance at this years Maryland Death Fest was, in fact, due to Gary’s commitment to his sudden and seriously ill father. Actually, just days prior to the start of the Metal Alliance tour, we were making arrangements to have someone fill in for Gary due to his unknown status. As things worked out, his father was able to recover to a somewhat stable condition, yet he is still not ‘out of the woods’ and continues to be a closely monitored.

“This was obviously a private and personal matter that didn’t warrant public knowledge, but it seems the press release from MDF and then the interview given by Gary about not quitting Exodus was just a random coincidence and we felt it necessary to inform people of the real story. Exodus is not disbanding!

“Gary will continue to perform on the current Metal Alliance tour, as well as splitting his time between Exodus & Slayer in the future. The band (with Holt) will be appearing at this year’s Hell & Heaven Fest in Guadalajara Mexico as advertised on May 19th. After which, Gary will return home to support and care for his family.

“Our apologies to the MDF staff, as well as to the Exodus fans, who were eager to see us, and we hope everyone understands that family and loved ones comes first.”

Let me begin by acknowledging that, yes, I was most certainly part of the “speculation, conspiracy theories, and just plain ole dumb-assed comments on the internet.” In my own defense, like I said above, the timing was pretty odd, and the band could have a little more specific as to the cause of their cancellation in their initial statement. They didn’t even have to publicly acknowledge that Holt’s father was sick if they didn’t want to — they could have just said that they were canceling due to a family emergency or whatever. The phrasing of the initial statement was bound to get us gossipers agossipin’, y’know?

On a more serious, less defensive note: I have some experience with ill fathers, and on behalf of everyone at MetalSucks, I’d just like to say that our collective heart goes out to Holt, sincerely. I don’t think any words ever help all that much in a situation like this, but I’ll type them anyway: we hope the elder Holt makes a full recovery, and our thoughts are with Gary and his family during this difficult time.

[via Metal Underground]

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