Exhorder – An Xperience Interview – by Jesse Skinner

Exhorder – An Xperience Interview – by Jesse Skinner.

Exhorder, the titans of thrash groove, have been dominating the metal scene since the mid-eighties and helping to shape the sound of countless bands along the way. Despite experiencing periods of hiatus and several lineup changes, the group has successfully released four outstanding heavy metal albums. Their latest, titled “Defectum Omnium,” hit the shelves back in March 2024. From start to finish, “Defectum Omnium” stands as a thrash metal masterpiece. Kyle Thomas’s impressive vocal range elevates this album to a remarkable modern thrash record along with electrifying riffs and thunderous drums. Exhorder will be hitting the road with Category 7 in 2025 and will be a tour you do not want to miss. Recently, Kyle took some time to share some insights into the life and journey of Exhorder.

RRX: What or who inspired you to start playing music? What were your early Influences and how did it help shape your style?

KYLE THOMAS: For as long as I can remember, I was connected with music. My earliest musical memory is probably from younger than two years old, jamming out to the Beatles on an 8 track in my parents’ living room. KISS, Queen, Led Zeppelin, and really most of what was on the radio gave me satisfaction that I didn’t seem to get from much else aside from normal kid stuff. But I never cared about singing, really. I was more locked in with the instrumentation and learning the arrangements.

RRX: What was your first instrument and at what age did you start to write your own original music?

KYLE THOMAS: I don’t even know the brand name of the first bass that I ever had, but I still have it. I got it for Christmas when I was 13 years old, and I was obsessed with it. My parents had to take it away from me from time to time, because I would focus only on that without a care in the world for my grades. I wrote my first real song when I was 15 years old, and it was called “Night Stalker.” The band I was in at the time was called Armageddon, and Jimmy Bower was our drummer. That was a fun time in my life.

RRX: Were you aware of the influence you had on other bands in the early days?

KYLE THOMAS: Not exactly, but band people always gravitated towards Exhorder. They still do.

RRX: If you could tour with any band or artist, dead or alive who would it be and why?

KYLE THOMAS: Most likely it would be former band members and friends of mine that have died. RRX: What sets the new album apart from the other releases? What was the writing & recording process like compared to past endeavors?

KYLE THOMAS: Any time you have lineup change there will be differences that you cannot avoid. Stylistic differences, influences, etc. When we began the writing process for Defectum Omnium, we knew we wanted to get heavier and more aggressive than the previous album, but we still felt like we wanted to continue the evolution of the band. Exhorder was never a pure version of any genre. And we really couldn’t give two shits if anyone isn’t on board because we “changed”. That’s always been the case. Had our third album come out in 1994 instead of

2019, there would still have been a contingency of people that didn’t like that we “changed”. Some people got mad that we “changed” on The Law after their preconceived notions they got from Slaughter in the Vatican, but we never really cared what people think. It’s our ride. Like the albums you like and dislike the rest- at the end of the day we’re not doing this for anyone but ourselves, really. You either like what we’re about or you can cherry pick what you like about us and hitch your cart to that. Ultimately we’re always going to do what we want. At the end of the day, we made a return to writing together as a band instead of one or two people being the main catalysts for the creative process. That’s how this band started, and that’s how this band thrives best. It’s a proven fact.

RRX: Did the Covid lockdowns delay the process for the new album or influence it in any way? Also, Was the Covid lockdowns a contributing factor as to why Marzi left? Or was it more due to creative differences?

KYLE THOMAS: Actually, lockdown pushed us into the writing process quicker than it would have had we not had to stop touring for Mourn the Southern Skies. We were actually on tour with more in the pipeline when we had to shut everything down. As far as Marzi’s involvement after Mourn the Southern Skies, it just wasn’t clicking. We did some work together and he was on a much different musical journey than the rest of us were. After we did the 2021 Slaughter in the Vatican US tour, we mutually parted ways. That’s pretty much it.

RRX: How did Pat O’Brien come into the picture for a potential guitarist at the time? Who reached out to who? After the incident he was involved with, was he hesitant at all to continue his path as a musician? Does he still have travel restrictions?

KYLE THOMAS: Jason and Pat have been friends since they were young. I don’t think they were super close friends, but they both came up in the Cincinnati scene. The rest of us knew Pat from playing festivals together, mostly in a casual way. In late 2021 we had decided that I was going to take on the role of primary rhythm guitarist, but it wasn’t until that winter in early 2022 that Jason suggested we reach out to Pat. Sasha and I were all for it, so he did. I think at the time Pat was a little hesitant to attempt to restart his career, but Jason mostly sold him on the idea that he should just come jam with his friends and try to have a good time. That’s exactly what happened, and he hasn’t left yet, ha ha! In 2025, we will be bringing Pat to Europe for the first time probably since 2018. We are as ready for him to be on stage with us there as he is. He’s excited to perform once again for the many fans he has in Europe. It’s really satisfying watching him find himself again. He’s a great guy who deserves happiness, as we all do.

RRX: On your recent tour with Eyehategod, any highlights or stories you would like to share?

KYLE THOMAS: The shows were great, and it was amazing to rekindle again with my old friends from my childhood. They are an amazing institution. Just go see them play and watch their audience interact with them, and you will see what I mean. One thing that I really loved about the tour was that the audiences were so young. Lots of teenagers and young twenty something folks. That is what keeps music alive. We did so much laughing about old stories from our youth, it was really fantastic.

RRX: What equipment do you use? Has it drastically changed at all through the years?

KYLE THOMAS: Well, of course, my equipment has drastically changed over the years, I just started playing guitar again, two years ago! But in all seriousness, when I played guitar for Floodgate, I was playing a Gibson V through a Marshall JCM 800. Today I play a Dean V through an ENGL head. Not much trickery goes into it. Just enough gain to get some crunch, but the chords ring clean. If there’s anything I learned from the past, it’s that you can’t have frequencies stepping all over each other, and that you can’t just keep turning up when it doesn’t sound right.

RRX: What strengths do you believe make you a great musician? And what weaknesses do you have that you’re working on to improve as a musician?

KYLE THOMAS: I don’t know that it’s my place to say whether I’m a great musician or not. Again, taste is subjective. I’m sure plenty of people can’t stand me or what I write and how I play or sing- but I don’t really care about that. I know I’m a capable player/singer and can do some things that a lot of people can’t. But I’m no longer fluent at reading sheet music and there are tons of people out there that are way better than me. As long as I’m enjoying myself and there are people paying to see me perform or buy our product, that’s good enough for me. I try to learn things along the way to improve my skill set, but I’m definitely not a guy that loves doing that all day long. I’m kind of a “jackoff of all trades”, haha!

RRX: What is the craziest moment you ever experienced? Either on tour or in life in general?

KYLE THOMAS: Seeing people die. I hate it. But anyone that travels a lot will see this. I’ve seen people drop dead in bus stations, highway accidents, or just out in public. I know death is life, but I get no great thrill out of seeing it.

RRX: What band in your opinion is the leading metal act carrying the torch for all Metal bands?

KYLE THOMAS: There’s too many to name one, and not all of them are old schoolers. But you cannot deny what the big four have done and still do, and plenty other bands as well. Maiden and Priest. Lamb of God. Slipknot. Look at what Gojira did at the Olympics. You don’t have to like any of it, but if you pretend it’s not real, you’re fooling yourself. And people getting mad about pop stars wearing metal merch is silly to me as well. If it convinces 0.5% of that audience to give metal or punk a try, then we’re all benefiting. Gatekeeping is narrow minded and immature in my opinion. I’m trying to reach as many people as I can and build our business as much as possible, not limit our audience and financial ceiling out of pride.

RRX: Any local bands or artist in your area that we should keep an ear out for?

KYLE THOMAS: Plenty! Herakleion, BRAT, Void, Kamikaze Zombie, Pale Devil Sun, Sounding, Cutthroat, the list goes on.

RRX: What does the future hold for Exhorder?

KYLE THOMAS: Hopefully stability, haha! We definitely have the right team at the moment, which helps immensely when traveling and working together for long periods of time. Our financial mess has been cleaned up, and that took a while. But finally we seem to be on the right track there. Everything is bigger for Exhorder now than it has ever been, so if we keep stoking those flames it will continue to grow.

RRX: What advice would you give to any young artist when it comes to developing their own different type of sound?

KYLE THOMAS: Quit now, this sucks! Haha, not really- well, kind of sometimes. BUT…if you’re serious about doing it for real, you’d better pack a lunch and step up your game. It’s harder now than ever to do this from the ground up, so it’s going to take time, effort, and bringing something new and special to the table. It can be done, but damn it sure is tougher than ever.

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