"I have my stuff backed up, but if I lose my phone, I wouldn't care. I've used the stuff I have really wanted to and by the time we do the next album, I'll probably record another thousand riffs that I don't listen back to." In a December 2021 interview with Guitar.com, Holt promised that there will not be another seven-year gap in between studio albums. Musical style, legacy and influences Exodus have been credited as one of the pioneers of the thrash metal genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s, and is often credited as the first Bay Area thrash metal band to exist, predating Metallica, who were originally from Los Angeles. Exodus is also considered to be a member of the "big eight" of the genre, along with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Testament, Overkill and Death Angel. Alternatively, Exodus have been called one of "the other big four" or "second big four" of thrash metal, alongside Testament, Overkill and Death Angel. The members of Exodus have cited numerous artists as an influence or inspiration to their sound, including AC/DC, Angel Witch, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Roy Buchanan, Glen Campbell, The Clash, Ry Cooder, Deep Purple, Diamond Head, Discharge, The Doors, The Exploited, GBH, Jimi Hendrix, Iron Maiden, Elton John, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin, Mercyful Fate, Gary Moore, Motörhead, Nazareth, Ted Nugent, Pink Floyd, Queen, Rainbow, the Sex Pistols, Sweet Savage, Thin Lizzy, Tygers of Pan Tang, UFO, Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Venom. Multiple thrash metal bands, including Slayer, Anthrax, Testament, Death Angel, Vio-lence, Flotsam and Jetsam, Heathen, Artillery, Havok, and Evile, as well as other bands such as Darkthrone, Cannibal Corpse, Fear Factory, Eyehategod and Primal Fear, have cited Exodus as an influence or inspiration to their music. Loudwire.com placed Exodus at number five on its list of the 10 Best Thrash Bands of All Time, calling them "The original kings of the Bay Area thrash scene", and saying that "While their uncompromising sound and uneven output in the coming decades kept world domination and platinum success ever at bay, you'd be hard passed to finger any other band, short of Slayer, perhaps, that's flown the thrash flag as proudly and unwaveringly as Exodus." In 1989, Brad Tolinski of Guitar World magazine wrote that, "If Exodus is a speed metal equivalent of the Rolling Stones, then New York-based Anthrax must surely be