Exodus - Blood In Blood Out (Japanese Edition) 2014

Exodus is an American heavy metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of 34 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Their current lineup consists of vocalist Steve Souza, guitarists Gary Holt and Lee Altus, bassist Jack Gibson and drummer Tom Hunting. Hunting is one of the original members, and departed from Exodus twice, in 1989 and 2004, but rejoined in 2007. Holt joined the band shortly after its formation, and is the only member of Exodus to appear on all their releases.

Since its formation, Exodus has released ten studio albums, two live albums and two compilations. Along with Testament and Metallica, whose longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett was an original member of Exodus, they are often credited as pioneers of the Bay Area thrash metal scene, and have sold over 5 million albums worldwide as of 2013. Exodus had particular success in the mid-to-late 1980s with their first three studio albums―Bonded by Blood, Pleasures of the Flesh and Fabulous Disaster. The critical praise given to Fabulous Disaster garnered attention from major labels, including Capitol Records, with whom Exodus would eventually sign in 1989. Exodus released two more studio albums (Impact Is Imminent and Force of Habit) before disbanding in 1993. After a temporary reunion in 1997-1998, Exodus reformed once again in 2001, and since then, they have released five more studio albums, the most recent being 2014's Blood In, Blood Out.


Exodus At MySpace





2014 Blood In Blood Out (Japanese Edition)


Tracklist:

01. Black 13
02. Blood In, Blood Out
03. Collateral Damage
04. Salt the Wound
05. Body Harvest
06. Btk
07. Wrapped in the Arms of Rage
08. My Last Nerve
09. Numb
10. Honor Killings
11. Food for the Worms
12. Angel Of Death (Angel Witch Cover)
13. Protect Not Dissect

Label: Columbia


Exodus have been a band that tried, stopped, tried again, tried again AND tried again. Their train derailed somewhere in the nineties at the same time pretty much all old school thrash metal bands were going through an identity crisis thanks to the downfall of eighties metal. Even though ‘Force Of Habit’ was by far better than the worst albums Testament, Sacred Reich, Anthrax, Metallica and Slayer were releasing during the mid-nineties, Exodus nevertheless died afterwards.

Their short lived glorious comeback with Baloff (and amazing live album) was continued with the return of Zetro for obvious reasons when they released ‘Tempo of the Damned’ which, retrospectively, hasn’t stood the test of time that well really. The sound was too tight, sterile, lacked that old school sweaty real life feeling and also lacked a high necessary amount of fast songs which made the band great in the first place. On 'Tempo of the Damned' Exodus just became another ‘pissed off’ sounding band. A somewhat one-dimensional experience.

Then they took a nosedive. 'Exhibit A' and 'Let There Be Blood' were such over-digital lifeless albums with terrible, godawful vocals on which Exodus sounded so far away from the glorious band that once released the timeless classics Fabulous Disaster and Bonded By Blood. A lot of older fans simply stopped caring and going to their gigs because their vocalist at the time, Dukes, didn’t do their old songs any justice and made the entire band sound like just another metalcore band, his stage presence didn’t do the band any good either. Slowly the band began regaining consciousness and ‘Exhibit B’ has a few moments of clarity or even brilliance, if you wished away those vocals. As said in my earlier review of that album, the 78:28 minute ‘Exhibit B’ featured enough great riffs and ideas to have led to a great 40 minute Exodus album and also IF it had had another vocalist.

Fast forward to 2014: singer Zetro is back. Was this enough for Exodus to come up with a mindblowing new album? No, the ‘decent’ and therefor rather disappointing ‘Tempo’ album had proved that earlier in their career. Exodus need an album with good vocals, good riffs AND a majority of fast songs. Exodus is a band that stood for energy! So start raging. This ain’t the Arsenio Hall show, destroy something! In 2014 they finally did. ‘Blood In Blood Out’ is pretty much their best studio album since 1990’s ‘Impact Is Imminent’ or at least the first album (with new material) since then that actually sounds like Exodus from the eighties again. If you want typical catchy eighties feeling: the title track is right there for you. It’s 1987 all over again. A to-the-point thrash metal song, shorter than 4 minutes, high average pace, solid furious riffing and a chorus which is classic shout-a-long material.

Speaking of catchy lyrics, this was something Exodus were excellent at during their first few albums. Those elaborate omnipresent backing vocals and lead vocal lines which could almost be considered rhymes in a traditional sense and brought with a highly accurate rhythm by Zetro. This is what makes songs like ‘Collateral Damage’ and ‘Body Harvest’ the next in line of instant Exodus classics. Not only vocally the songs are way up there with some of their classics but their riffs and song structures as well. A fast pace exactly when a song needs it and catchiness in riffs & breaks put in at the right moment resulting in pristine effective thrashers. Thrash needs good hooks and these songs bring you exactly that.

Is this such a great flawless album then? Will this be remembered just as their first 3 or 4 albums? Probably not. It’s all retro now. It's delivered in a time when this stuff has become ‘just another release in one of hundred subgenres in metal’ and those typical Exodus elements which were once new, refreshing and energizing a whole generation of young metal fans are now considered by many to be cheesy, cliché or plain dull and old fashioned. Also, apart from the somewhat decent ‘Salt the Wound’ which is on par with the material on their ‘Tempo’ album, we have two slower and unfortunately duller songs. ‘BTK’ and ‘My Last Nerve’ are two meandering songs which will maybe appeal to those fans that could stomach their Exhibit A days though not me.

Fortunately faster and more old school orientated songs like ‘Wrapped in the Arms of Rage’ and ‘Numb’ make it all right again. One could complain the songs are a bit overlong but so far I actually don’t have much trouble with their length. Exodus pull off the lengthy songs here much better than Metallica on Death Magnetic. Also, I should not forget to mention closing song ‘Food for the Worms’. This song has by far the fastest moments on the album and actually the fastest moment in Exodus history. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gary Holt someday will admit the song uses some ideas and riffs which he wrote with Slayer in mind…

All-in all, ‘Blood In Blood Out’ is an Exodus album on which they go back in time. For some this’ll be a disappointment, for fans of old like me this is a pure case of welcoming back an old friend. The days have passed but apparently there are new stories to be told as well. Here’s to a bright new future with friends of old. Which in my book is the best thing 2014 could have given me.





Genre: Thrash
Bitrate: 320 k
Size: 161.06 MB
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