In a new interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt discussed the band's reunion shows.

When asked if he was surprised when approached to play the band's first two reunion performances at Riot Fest in Chicago and Aftershock festival in Sacramento, Holt replied: "Yeah, I was.

I was super surprised." However, he emphasized that it was a lot of fun, and they rehearsed really hard for the shows.

Holt also stated that he was committed to EXODUS, but SLAYER's brief performances allowed him to do both bands.

When asked about playing with fire, which "that shit's expensive," Holt laughed off the pyrotechnics expense comparing it to his work on EXODUS.

Holt reflected on the recent shows, stating that they were surreal and awesome.

He mentioned rehearsing really hard for the full production rehearsal and redesigning the rig based on his EXODUS setup.

Holt also acknowledged being nervous but sounding amazing during their performances.

The guitarist recalled starting to work on songs a long time ago when the shows were first announced and literally having to revisit Internet tabs of songs he'd played a hundred times.

When asked about SLAYER's reunion coming together, King attributed it to Tom Araya agreeing to play three SLAYER shows in 2024.

King stated that he was very surprised when Araya agreed, adding that they had been turning down offers to play shows since the beginning of 2020 and were happy with the brief anniversary celebration package.

Holt also discussed his commitment to EXODUS, stating that it doesn't get pyro like SLAYER does.

When asked about SLAYER's reunion, Holt emphasized that he was always available for more performances but highlighted his primary role in EXODUS.