By Meltdown | 101 WRIF – Detroit’s Rock Station
There are few guys in metal with a story quite like Tom Hunting. The Exodus drummer recently turned 60 and celebrated the way only a thrash legend would—by skiing in Tahoe and throwing one hell of a party with Death Angel, Chuck Billy, and the whole crew. “I skied my ass off for three mornings,” he told me, laughing. “Then my wife threw me a huge party. I’m just overcome with gratitude.”
And yeah, that gratitude runs deep. Tom’s been through it—health battles, lineup changes, a music industry that’s constantly shifting. But now, he’s back in the studio with the guys, working on Exodus’ 12th album and gearing up for a short but brutal tour that kicks off in California and lands at the Machine Shop in Flint on May 6th.
“We’re just trying to maximize the time right now,” Tom said. “We’re rolling into our sixties, man. Why not?”
He told me he’s already laid down drums for 17 or 18 songs. “Gary’s done with all his rhythms and leads. Rob’s working on vocals. It’s kind of a next-man-up thing—one guy gets tired, another jumps in. You never really finish a record, right? At some point, you just walk away from it and say, ‘That’s what it is.’”
Tom had a lot of love for Rob Dukes, who’s back in the band and tearing it up vocally in a way that’s even caught Tom by surprise.
“I’ve never heard him sing like this,” he said. “It’s gonna blow people’s minds. And yeah—it’s heavy. But we also leaned into our roots—there’s some straight-up hard rock on this record, too. We’re not afraid to get weird at this point. It’s album number twelve! Let’s do what the hell we want!”
That right there sums up the spirit of Exodus—punk, metal, hard rock, NWOBHM… all tossed in a blender with no apologies. Tom is grateful for every riff along the way.
“When you’re young, you think it’s all rage and partying. But now, you appreciate the journey,” he told me. “Before I turned 60, I was just reflecting. Not a lot of bands make 12 records. Hell, not many make 7.”
We talked about health, too—Tom was heading to see his oncologist the same day we chatted. He’s doing well, but the guy’s still grinding. Touring, recording, and reflecting on four decades in metal.
“Next to being a traveling food critic, this is the best job in the world,” he laughed. “We get to play music, meet people from all over the planet. We’ve had Italian sound guys, Hungarian drum techs, French guitar techs, and a bunch of dumb Americans on the same bus—it’s awesome.”
