American thrash metal legends and genre originators, Exodus, are currently unleashing their ferocious live show across North America with their "The Battle Of '24" tour. Ahead of the band's November 23 date at Preserving Underground in Pittsburgh, PA, guitarist Gary Holt spoke with TribLIVE.com. He discussed the “Big Four” of thrash, his upcoming memoir, Slayer’s recent festival shows and his sole meeting with Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno. An excerpt follows...

TribLIVE.com: Exodus started out playing Iron Maiden songs when the band first started. Did you ever have any run-ins with their original lead singer, Paul Di’Anno, who died last month?

Gary Holt: "Only once, on the Pleasures Of The Flesh U.S. tour. We ended the tour in Arizona, and it was kind of a mini-festival indoor, but I remember Sacred Reich and Heathen played and Battlezone played. And Paul Di’Anno, that’s the one and only time I ever met the guy, and he was an absolute gentleman considering he was being fanboyed over wildly by Exodus and Heathen, like just Paul (expletive) Di’Anno, and he was so (expletive) nice about it. Exodus were covering the first (Iron Maiden) album, those songs at backyard parties when everybody thought they were originals. No one had ever heard them because our friend bought the album based on the album cover and the live photo on the back like, 'This has gotta be killer. Look at this.' He bought it and changed my life, those first two Iron Maiden albums. And no disrespect to Bruce (Dickinson), those albums, Number Of The Beast and Powerslave, those are phenomenal albums. They changed my life too, but those first two, especially the first one, music never sounded like that to me before. It’s like I never heard a guitar and a bass before. It was (expletive) epic. And Paul brought like a punk edge to it. Just his whole look, he almost looked more like a punk. Way too young. It’s such a sad loss."

Read more at TribLIVE.com.

The current Exodus tour marks the band's first headlining run in many years and features support from thrash metallers Havok, metallic hardcore outfit Candy, and crossover thrashers Dead Heat.

The tour kicked off on Saturday, November 2, in Tampa, FL, and will thrash across North America, ultimately concluding on December 7 in Los Angeles, CA.

Gary Holt expressed the band's excitement: "Exodus are super stoked to announce 'The Battle Of '24', our tour with Havok, Candy, and Dead Heat. This tour will be raging, and this is our first headlining tour in many years, so we're excited to dig out some deep cuts as well as play some more songs off of Persona Non Grata. Let the battle begin!"

"The Battle Of '24" tour promises to be a must-see event for metal fans, showcasing Exodus' legendary status in the thrash metal scene alongside some of the genre's most exciting current acts.

Tour dates:

November
13 - Des Moines, IA - Wooly's
14 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
15 - Columbus, OH - King of Clubs
16 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
17 - Bethlehem, PA - Wind Creek Event Center
18 - Montreal, QC - Beanfield Theatre
19 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
21 - Worcester, MA - Palladium Upstairs
22 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
23 - Pittsburgh, PA - Preserving Underground
24 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
26 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
27 - Winnipeg, MB - Exchange Event Centre
29 - Calgary, AB - Palace Theatre
30 - Edmonton, AB - Union Hall

December
2 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
3 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
4 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne
6 - Berkeley, CA - UC Theatre
7 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent

Exodus recently released a cover of the AC/DC Highway To Hell album classic, "Beating Around The Bush". The track, which features a solo by former Exodus guitarist, Rick Hunolt, is available on all streaming platforms, you can save the single here. Listen below.

Says Exodus: "Unbeknownst to anyone, while recording Persona Non Grate we also busted out a few cover songs by our favorite bands, and there’s no band we love more than AC/DC! So we decided to do our own take on 'Beating Around The Bush'! We love the song and we stoked on our rendition. Hope you dig it too!"

Exodus is:

Gary Holt - guitar
Tom Hunting - drums
Steve "Zetro" Souza - vocals
Lee Altus - guitar
Jack Gibson - bass

(Photo - Tayva Martinez)