This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Exodus are among the earliest of the thrash bands. With few exceptions, guitarist Gary Holt has written nearly all of their music with lyric writing being shared more often. The second album Pleasures of the Flesh is the only album that has shared writing credits between all members. That line up consisted of Gary, Original and long time drummer Tom Hunter, vocalist Steve Zetro Souza, bassist Rob McKillop, and on guitar Rick Hunolt. An interesting note is that Kirk Hammett of obvious Metallica fame was one of the original members and did some of the earliest demos along side Gary. Although Exodus started before Metallica, their earliest demos are not quite thrash. The first one is very reminiscent of the NWOBHM style. Other members of Exodus and their contributions will be noted below.

Roy Buchanan

Glen Campbell

Ry Cooder

Deep Purple are one of the most influential hard rock and early heavy metal bands. Gary named them as an influence and named Ritchie Blackmore as his favorite guitarist. Rick also named Ritchie as an influence.

Led Zeppelin are one of the most influential hard rock bands every. Zetro and Dukes named them as a band they grew up on.

Black Sabbath are the fathers of metal. Gary named them as an influence and said Tony as written more great riffs than anyone. Rick also named Tony as an influence. Zetro named them as a band he grew up on. Dukes is also a fan.

Nazareth were a big hard rock band and even had some occasional metal tracks. Gary named them as an early influence.

UFO were a hugely inflectional hard rock band. Gary named them and Michael Schenker as an influence. Rick also named Schenker.

Thin Lizzy are a hugely influential rock / hard rock band. Gary named them as an influence, and named guitarists Gary Moore and John Sykes. He named “Emerald” as his favorite song.

Neal Schon

Scorpions were the first of German metal and influenced many. Gary named both Uli and Mattias as influences as well as Michael Schenker who was with them for a few albums. Rick named Shenker and Uli.

Rainbow was an incredible combination with Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio. Gary named them as an influence. Rick also named Ritiche.

Judas Priest were super important with refining heavy metal as a genre. Gary named them as an influence and said they are probably the best two guitar band. Rick also named K.K. and Glenn as influences.

Gary Moore has done many solo albums on top of some influential Thin Lizzy albums. Rick and Gary both named him as an influence.

AC/DC are the quintessential hard rock band. Gary named them and Angus as an influence. Rick also named Angus. Zetro said Bon Scott is his biggest influence and modeled his voice after him.

Before anyone cared about his politics, Ted Nugent was an influential hard rocker. Gary named him one of his guitar heroes.

Stevie Ray Vaughan is an influential blues player. Rick named him as an influence.

Motorhead are hard rock / heavy metal legends. Gary named them as an influence.

Diamond Head were one of the earliest of the NWOBHM. Gary named them as an influence.

Dokken were an important glam metal band. Rick named George Lynch as an influence.

Van Halen were revolutionary in the music scene when they blew up. Gary named them as an early influence. Rick named Eddie as a main influence and the reason he started playing guitar.

Angel Witch are an important NWOBHM band. Gary and Tom named them as an influence.

Tygers of Pan Tang were a NWOBHM band. Gary named them as an influence.

Iron Maiden are one of the most influential bands. Gary named early Iron Maiden as an influence.

Discharge were a super important early hardcore punk band. Tom named them as an influence and said he takes a lot of his drum beats from them.

Venom are one of the most important bands when it comes to pushing metal in an extreme direction. Gary and Tom both named them as an influence.

Steve Vai is considered one of the best guitarist ever. Rick named him as an influence.

Sweet Savage were the original band of Dio and Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbel. They put out relatively few recordings until reformed with a couple original members years later. Gary named them as an influence.

Mercyful Fate were technical with tons of riffs and changes in their songs. Tom said they were a main influence on the band.

GBH were an influential punk/hardcore band. Tom named them as an influence.

The exploited were a hardcore and corssover band. Tom named them as an influence.

Joe Satriani is an influential mostly instrumental rock guitarist. Rick took lessons from Satriani for about a year when he first picked up guitar.

Gary said he was influenced by early British hardcore but didn’t name any bands. For more modern bands he says he loves Dimmu Borgir, Hypocrisy, The Haunted , Carnal Forge, and Therion.

Rick played piano for four years or so before playing guitar. He has a couple writing co-credits on the first album and co-wrote a lot of Force of Habit. When asked he said Randy Roads was in his top 10. Early on he said Elton John was a big influence; he listened to funk and Rhythm and blues as well. He said even other instruments such as more classical instruments influence his guitar playing.

Paul Baloff was the vocalist for the first album and contributed lyrics. I’m unsure of his influences.

Rob McKillop was the bassist for the first four albums. I’m unsure of his influences.

Mike Butler played on Force of Habit I’m unsure of his influences.

Jack Gibson has been on bass since 1997. He named Geddy Lee and Billy Sheehan as influences.

Tom Hunter was one of the original members. Tom said the earliest version of the band was covering some NWOBHM bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. He said they also were heavily influenced by punk and even listened to some reggae. He said a lot of his drum parts are inspired by Discharge with a bit of Keith Moon.

Lee Altus has been in the band since 2005. He has a few writing credits in recent years. his influences are covered on the Heathen family tree.

Rob Dukes was the vocalist for three albums and co-wrote on a few songs during that time. His early influences come from his parents with stuff like Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. The first bands he got into were The Clash, Sex Pistols, and early albums from The Police. Other bands he names are Queen, Black Sabbath, and Ozzy. He says he listened to a bit of everything. Dukes also plays guitar and was guitar tech for Exodus before singing in the band.

Drummer John Tempesta played on two albums in the early 90’s. He only has one co-writing credit although he has two more on bonus tracks released on the remaster of Force of Habit. He said the first stuff he tried to play was from Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. He is a huge David Bowie fan. He named Cozy Powell as one of his biggest influences. His influences include: John Bonham, Terry Bozzio, Cozy Powell, Simon Phillips, Steve Smith, Brain Downey, Tommy Aldridge, Steve Gadd, Tony Williams, and Charlie Benante, Alex Vanhalen and Bill Ward. He names Black Sabbath as one of his favorite bands. He was a drum tech for Charlie Benante and leaned a lot about how to play thrash from him.

Drummer Paul Bostaph was on Shovel Headed Kill Machine but has now writing credits. Eventually he will be covered on a Forbidden family tree.

Bands influenced by Exodus!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

One of the biggest of the new wave of thrash

Sources:

http://www.getreadytorock.com/pure_metal/exodus.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20071023222410/http://www.metal-invader.com/interviews/exodus-2005-10-01/interview.php
https://www.musicradar.com/news/slayers-gary-holt-dont-sacrifice-feeling-for-technical-perfection
https://metalheadzone.com/gary-holt-names-the-band-that-gave-strong-influence-to-every-twin-lead-guitar-bands/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3kHe-ffteU
http://www.osiamo.com/Gary-Holt
https://theforgedlegions.music.blog/2020/10/08/marc-c-pietrek-interview-with-rick-hunolt-ex-exodus/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy_hCXMSRQo&t=413s
https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/steve-zetro-souza-bands-don-t-survive-off-record-sales-anymore/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uki9zGFycyM
https://www.westword.com/music/tom-hunting-of-exodus-on-how-building-a-song-is-like-building-the-best-sandwich-possible-5674510
https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/news/141031/
https://glidemagazine.com/117258/john-tempesta-cult-white-zombie/
https://www.hit-channel.com/john-tempesta-the-cult/1363
http://www.johntempesta.com/