With longtime Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman sidelind becauase of a deadly infection suffered as the result of a spider bite, Exodus founder and guitarist Gary Holt has been filling in, and the band hasn't missed a beat.  The two bands have been close for years, as they came up around the same time in the Bay Area thrash scene of the 1980s, and Holt has filled in with Slayer before.  Guitarist Kerry King sat down last week for a lengthy chat with Full Metal Jackie, a nationally syndicated radio host, where he spoke quite fondly of Holt, referring to him as the Glenn Tipton of this era.  Check out a few choice excerpts from the chat below, or Click Here to see when the interview will air live in your market.

Full Metal Jackie: I want to start by bringing up [EXODUS guitarist] Gary Holt, who is filling in for [Slayer's] Jeff Hanneman. Gary's band Exodus goes way back with Slayer, but how much of a factor was familiarity when it came to bringing him in?

Kerry: Probably more than I've ever let on, but I always regard Gary as the Glenn Tipton of our era - really good, really polished and nobody talks about him. To this day, nobody really references (Judas) Priestand Tipton that much as guitar players and I feel the same way about Gary. Exodus have a huge following but a little more overlooked than Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax-  the "Big Four," so to speak, so to be able to bring him to the forefront and shove him down people's throats and say, "Hey, this motherfucker kicks ass. Pay attention."

Full Metal Jackie: Kerry, do you guys reminisce a lot about how long you all been friends and part of this and where the metal scene it today?

Kerry: From time to time. Me and Gary are usually up later on the bus than everybody else - if we're not watching some crazy horror or comedy or yackin' about something.

Full Metal Jackie: What aspects of Gary's style most affect what you're doing onstage?

Kerry: Probably not his style as much as... It's still new for him and every few months or so he'll say, "Why don't we play this one? It'd be awesome to play this one." So we'll go learn another song that Gary hasn't played because he wants to make the most of his time here. We pull out "Hell Awaits" from time to time. He's performed it twice, but I think that's the most recent one he's the greenest on.