Legendary shredder Gary Holt has been the center of much discussion lately, as the thrash guitarist has continued to split his time between his main band Exodus and his guest spot in Slayer. Exodus were recently forced to cancel their spot at this year's Maryland Death Fest, and of course, the rumors of Holt's departure began to fly. To combat said rumors, the band has posted an official statement about the festival cancellation, revealing that Holt needed to take care of his "seriously ill" father.

As Slayer shredder Jeff Hanneman remains on the bench due to a case of necrotising fasciitis, Holt has become somewhat of a recent staple of Slayer, offering fans five-star performances each and every night. Slayer's Kerry King also claimed in a recent interview that if Hanneman was permanently replaced by Holt at some point, King would be "okay with that."

To set the record straight, Exodus posted the following message via their Facebook page:

We have recently observed a whirlwind of speculation, conspiracy theories, and just plain ole dumb-assed comments on the internet regarding Exodus' future and that of Gary Holt's commitment to this band. The following is an attempt to shed some light on actual facts, as well as trying to clear the air. The reason we cancelled our appearance at this years Maryland Death Fest was, in fact, due to Gary's commitment to his sudden and seriously ill father. Actually, just days prior to the start of the Metal Alliance tour, we were making arrangements to have someone fill in for Gary due to his unknown status. As things worked out, his father was able to recover to a somewhat stable condition, yet he is still not "out of the woods" and continues to be a closely monitored. This was obviously a private and personal matter that didn't warrant public knowledge, but it seems the press release from MDF and then the interview given by Gary about not quitting Exodus was just a random coincidence and we felt it necessary to inform people of the real story. Exodus is not disbanding! Gary will continue to perform on the current Metal Alliance tour, as well as splitting his time between Exodus & Slayer in the future. The band (with Holt) will be appearing at this year's Hell & Heaven Fest in Guadalajara Mexico as advertised on May 19th. After which, Gary will return home to support and care for his family. Our apologies to the MDF staff, as well as to the Exodus fans, who were eager to see us, and we hope everyone understands that family and loved ones comes first.

Exodus are currently performing on the 2013 Metal Alliance tour with Anthrax, High on Fire, Municipal Waste + Holy Grail.

More From Classic Rock 105.1