Formed in 1981 by singer Paul Baloff, guitarists Gary Holt and Kirk Hammett, bassist Geoff Andrews, and drummer Tom Hunting, Exodus were heavily influenced by Motörhead and New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden and Raven, whose lessons they combined with the raw D.I.Y. aesthetic of the prolific Bay Area punk scene to create thrash metal.Since its formation, Exodus has released ten studio albums, two live albums and two compilations and have sold over 5 million albums worldwide as of 2013.