Exodus preview

Exodus, Warbringer
Pearl Room, Mokena
Saturday, February 16, 2008

Exodus’ influence on the origin of thrash metal is being pushed hard to promote the group’s new album (eighth overall), The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A (Nuclear Blast). We are, after all, in the midst of a full-blown thrash revival. But consider this: In 1986, the year most people heard Exodus’ debut, Bonded By Blood (it was released on a smaller scale by Torrid Records the prior year), Metallica and Slayer released their third records; Megadeth their second; and Anthrax their fourth.

That’s not to say Exodus’ contributions should be downplayed, only put in perspective. Of course, another thing that shouldn’t be downplayed is the band’s horrible luck. The Boston Red Sox had the Curse Of The Bambino after Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees; Exodus had the curse of the Hammbino, as in Kirk Hammett, who deserted Exodus to join Metallica in 1983. (Exodus obviously had some influence in the early days.) From there on, things never went according to plan. Bonded By Blood sat finished, but unreleased, for more than a year, allowing the aforementioned groups to leave Exodus in a cloud of dust at the starting line. The following decades were no kinder as drugs (meth), death (original vocalist Paul Baloff in 2002), and constant roster turnover (punctuated by longtime frontman Steve Souza’s resignation in 2004 on the eve of a South American tour) hounded the group.

Lucky for metalheads, though, founding guitarist Gary Holt doesn’t give up so easy. Through good and (mostly) bad times, he has kept Exodus together in various lineups (original drummer Tom Hunting is the only “classic era” member left aside from Holt) and, in the day and age where Dave Mustaine has found God and Lars Ulrich collects fine art, has grown more cynical and pissed as his band gets longer in the tooth, evident by the menacing Atrocity Exhibition.

Opener Warbringer has certainly heard Bonded By Blood and follow the Exodus’ blueprint (and also eyeball Reign In Blood‘s – 11 songs in 39 minutes!) as closely as possible for their full-length debut, War Without End (Century Media). So-called “purists” don’t like the idea of a thrash revival led by bands like Warbringer, Skeletonwitch, and Trivium, whose members were toddlers during the original wave (Warbringer ranges in age from 17 to 22), but who gives a shit if the music is good?

Goatwhore, Arsis, and Beneath The Hollow also play.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here for streaming Exodus samples.

Click here to download Warbringer’s “Dread Command.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly