Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California by guitarist Gary Holt, current Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, and drummer Tom Hunting. Spanning a career of 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous line-up changes, two extended hiatuses and has seen the deaths of two former band members. With nine studio albums, two live albums and two compilations, Exodus has released a total of thirteen albums since their debut in 1985. Gary Holt remains the only steady member of the band, appearing on all their releases. Though drummer Tom Hunting is one of the founding band members, he has made two departures from Exodus but is currently the band's active drummer.