Gary Wayne Holt (born May 4, 1964) is an American musician from the San Francisco Bay Area.[1] He is the guitarist and main songwriter for thrash metal band Exodus, and has also been a member of Slayer since 2011, initially joining as a temporary guitarist in place of Jeff Hanneman, and as a permanent guitarist after his death in May 2013. Loudwire called Holt "arguably the best pure thrash guitarist".[2]