Gary Holt‘s blood-painted ESP single-cut is one of the most unique and metal guitars ever created, and many would go as far as consider it the most metal thing ever done. In a recent fan Q&A session at Diablo Guitars, Holt revealed how much blood he gave to paint the guitar and how the whole idea came to be.
“Brian Werner, who was the singer for Vital Remains, is a really good friend of Vincent Castiglia, the artist. I met Castiglia, and we just started looking at his art, which is just the most phenomenal thing in the world.”
“And we thought, ‘Why don’t we do a guitar, no one’s ever done that?’ So he came with a phlebotomist to a Slayer show backstage and pulled 18 vials of blood. He wanted 32, but it was the first of a two-night stand, and my wife was there and she said ‘That’s enough of my husband.’ So, we went with the stylized vision of Lucifer as the handsome angel he was. 777 on the pickups instead of 666; my wife and I; the address where we got married was 777, so it’s our lucky number. It says ‘Lex Talionis’ on the back of the neck, which is loosely translated as ‘eye for an eye’. It’s one of a kind, you know.”
“People say, ‘Well, didn’t Kiss put their blood in a comic book?’ Yeah, they put like a drop, man. This was 18 vials!” Holt added when comparing the his axe with the Kiss comic book being printed in the band members’ blood.
“Yeah, it’s a prized possession. I took it out on the last tour with Anthrax and Black Label Society, and that’s the first tour I’ve taken it out since Slayer because I’m also very cautious about what venues I take it into. I wouldn’t take it into a rowdy, no barricades club.”
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