Jack Gibson of Exodus talked to us at Basinfire Fest 2025!
Exodus always it’s going to be associated with one of the finest and most brutal variants of Thrash metal coming out straight from the Bay Area. With over 40 years of career under their belts and a long discographic catalog, the quintet delivered a strucking set at Basinfire Fest with heavy hitters like; ‘Bonded by Blood, The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves), A Lesson in Violence, War Is My Shepherd, The Toxic Waltz, and Strike of the Beast’.
Before their set, we got the chance to seat down with bass player Jack Gibson to talk about the band’s European summer tour, their upcoming album, the return of Rob Dukes as vocalist and the influence of thrash metal on new generations.
Miguel / Metal Heart Radio: Hello Jack, how has been the summer tour in Europe so far?
Jack Gibson: Oh, it's been good, man. Our travel's been non-stop, so I haven't had much chance to relax, but yeah, the shows been great so far.
MHR: Well, Rob joined the band back in January, how does it feel to have him back in the band?
JG: Oh, it's good, yeah. I mean, we like Rob, so good to have him back. We worked on the album in February, March, and April, so I mean, we were all kind of living together, you know, there for those months.
MHR: Living together?
JG: Yeah, we rented a house in the Bay Area, so that we could all kind of come in and be there together while we were working. Like a writing process together or something like that, we did some of the writing there. Most of the writing, you know, most of the writing Gary and Lee do just kind of in their own heads, and then they kind of bring the song down, so it was more learning than writing, but yeah, you know, we all kind of lived there, and then we could kind of just go to the studio when we needed to be and be close when we needed to be, so it was good. It's been good.
MHR: I hear that from this writing, for this meeting, you guys have enough material for two albums.
JG: Yeah, I think almost. We recorded 19 songs.
MHR: Jesus Christ, that's a lot.
JG: Yeah, it is a lot. It was brutal. It was pretty brutal.
MHR: Without giving many things away, what can you tell me these two albums are about?
JG: Well, I don't really know what they're about. I mean, the words are, you know, it's kind of typical, not typical, but I mean, it's kind of along the lines of Exodus. It's not like we're singing love songs all of a sudden or anything like that, but musically, it's kind of a departure. There's like some straight up rock on this album.
MHR: You mean a departure from thrash metal into rock?
JG: Almost, you know, I mean, it's always thrash metal. Just some of the stuff turned out, you know, some of it's over the top and some of it's not.
Some of it's just like almost rock, but it's really good, man. It's really cool, really inventive and really good stuff.
MHR: Thrash metal always has been one of the responsive parts of metal towards society's reality. Are you guys touching anything within the spectrum of everything that is happening right now around the world?
JG: Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, I don't write the lyrics. Right. So I'm not I'm not really in control of that. But yeah, you have seen. Yeah. And they're all a lot of it's about, you know, things going on now, things that went on in the past or, you know, things that may or may never go on. You know what I mean.
MHR: Well, bands like Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, you guys paved the way for thrash metal, you know, around 30+ years ago, Now, if we go back a little bit, 10 years ago, we had bands like Havok, Municipal Waste, Warbringer bringing this fresh thrash metal into the scene. Now, what younger bands nowadays have you seen that are carrying that same torch and having that same energy?
JG: Even more. Well, more than that, it was probably they've been we were talking about, they've been coming over here from Tom and Gary came over here 41 years ago.
I remember doing that. That's fun. Shit, I don't even know. Well, we know that band Evil Invaders that's in from Holland. I think that's the only one that I can really think of off the top of my head. But I mean, we're friends with all those bands. We just did it with Havok and just saw Municipal Waste. They're raiding this highway now.
MHR: Now they see you guys as like, okay, their mentors, but we see kids now doing thrash metal. Like, you know, 15-year old’s playing Exodus
JG: Yeah. We got a lot of young people in the audience now.
MHR: How do you feel about it?
JG: Oh, it's great. It's job security. I mean, you know, it's like you need that.
I mean, we have all the old graybeards like us are there and then but there's this young group of young kids with their patch vests on and all this shit. And yeah, I mean, it's great. For me, that's personally surprising. I was like, wow, 10 years. I saw some those kids are like, you know, shows or whatever. Well, I think metal has like this universal timeless appeal, right to some people, right? Like metal was always appreciated by some people, like just a just one, you know, group of people. And I think every generation has that, you know, kind of pissed off. I don't I don't want to be here right now. The type of attitude.
And so, I think even like the old school, you know, the old school stuff appeals to young kids because it is an energy source, you know, for people that are not happy with their surroundings or whatever.
MHR: In the last five years, I've seen the rise of different bands, you know, bands with short hair, a little bit cleaner, very screamy. How do you feel is the state of metal now? Is it a different monster from what you guys started?
JG: Well, yeah, but I mean, it's because times are, you know, times are different.
You know, when we were young, like when we were young, the people that were into metal and especially like extreme metal, like the thrash people, you know, they were they were we were dangerous people. You know, we were drinking underage, doing drugs, fucking things up, going, having, you know, parties and and like kids don't really do that kind of stuff anymore. And so, yeah, I mean, I think it's different.
But, you know, I've always been someone that doesn't like I don't really critique other people's choices for what they write or whatever, you know what I mean? Because making music is so personal, like I don't feel good about. Right. Like I may not like it, but I don't think you should make it or whatever.
You know what I mean? Like there's enough of it out there. You can find what you like and leave the rest at the buffet.
MHR: Now, after this tour, what is next for Exodus for the next rest of the year?
JG: Man, I don't really know. We're mostly been working straight since January, so we're kind of off for the next few months. I think we might have something going on toward the end of the year, but I think it's not quite confirmed yet. Maybe in the Bay Area.
Well, we're supposed to do some stuff in the U.S. and some stuff in Europe that are on there, but it's just talking. It's just talking. We can't put a date on it. Yeah, I don't want to say anything.
MHR: Definitely looking forward for the show. It's been like two years since the last time that I saw Exodus, actually here, but in another festival.
JG: Which one?
MHR: Masters of Rock, that was last time there. And then this time it's with Rob. Definitely looking forward to see that because I remember seeing you guys with Rob, I think 2015 or 14, perhaps.
JG: Sounds about right.
MHR: But it was in Phoenix, AZ Thank you, Jack.
JG: Thank man, was a pleasure.
Photo: Martin Huf
