Exodus drummer Tom Hunting was recently diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. Exodus guitarist Gary Holt set up a GoFundMe fundraiser for Hunting to help cover his bills. Thankfully, in a new update, Hunting reveals he's been "doing really good," according to an update from frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza.
Souza revealed the news on his YouTube series, Zetro’s Toxic Vault, where he said “I was actually with the whole band last Tuesday. We had a photo shoot. And I’ve gotta say Tom looks great. And from all of us, and him as well, we wanna thank all of you guys for all of your kind words, all of your financial support. And I want you guys to know that he’s one of the strongest individuals I’ve ever met in my life. That’s why he got so much love. He’s just such a great, amazing player, as that goes. He’s an awesome drummer — an innovator at what he does — and just an overall great dude, and everybody loves him.”
“[Tom’s] cut his hair off, and I thought he looks great, dude. I was walking up to him, going, like, ‘Hi, I’m Tom Hunting. I’ll be selling your house.’ He looks so professional. I told him, ‘Fuck, dude. I wouldn’t grow it back, if I was you.’
“Anyway, he’s great, and he looks great, and he’s beating this thing. Like he said in the press, he’s gonna beat it like a snare drum that owes him money, and he’s doing that right now. When you guys hear what he’s done on the new record and see him live, it’s gonna be really exciting for everyone. It makes it even that much more special as that comes out.”
“I don’t wanna tell too much, because he’s very reserved on these types of things and he doesn’t really want me to talk about it. I just wanna let you guys know that he’s doing really good, and he looks really good, and his attitude and everybody around him is very positive. And that’s all I can say. He’s gonna lick this thing, no problem. And we’ll see you guys back with him right out on the road.”
You can watch the full episode below.
A benefit show for Hunting has been announced for July 17 at One The Y in Sacramento, CA. The show features Blind Illusion, Boneless Ones (feat. Forbidden guitarist Craig Locicero and Machine Head drummer Chris Contos), and Jesus Crisis.
Exodus also recently moved their long-awaited new album Persona Non Grata back from its original June release date to this November. Souza said in recently that Persona Non Grata is a "career-defining record" and that the band wants to wait for Hunting to be well again before releasing it.
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