…on the back of the Slayer poll - EXODUS!

I have tried many times but I cannot like this band - yes all the elements are there, but they just come across as hammy and lame. Plus they have some of the worst album covers ever - Bonded by Blood being the prime example. So what am I missing here?

Silver for me. They’re a metal band. The vocals generally don’t thrill me.

I have a classification of music.

If it’s off, I’m not turning it on. If it’s on I’m not turning it off.

Exodus are one of those bands.

Never really did it for me but "Deranged" is a great track so I'm voting NC

bronze

The Holt/Hunolt twin guitar attack was solid, brutal stuff. Makes me nostalgic for Combat Records.

Bonded by Blood is essential, but the rest is spotty. Kirk Hammett definitely made the right career decision (for a time). Holt and Hunolt could rip, and Gary was the right choice to replace Hanneman.

Gramsci wrote: Tue Jul 15, 2025 6:22 am Silver for me. They’re a metal band. The vocals generally don’t thrill me.

I have a classification of music.

If it’s off, I’m not turning it on. If it’s on I’m not turning it off.

Exodus are one of those bands.

Inertia bands?

I agree, but for me this take means they're bronze, not silver.

In 1988, I went to an Exodus show, mainly to see the openers (Zoetrope, Sacred Reich, Heathen). I left before Exodus, and I never regretted it.

Their music is so unmemorable. Definitely the most pedestrian of the first wave.

Edit- Stay Hungry era Twisted Sister is solidly silver.

Iancee wrote: Tue Jul 15, 2025 6:15 am …on the back of the Slayer poll - EXODUS!

I have tried many times but I cannot like this band - yes all the elements are there, but they just come across as hammy and lame. Plus they have some of the worst album covers ever - Bonded by Blood being the prime example. So what am I missing here?

I was once in your shoes until I heard Tempo of the Damned and the live record Another Lesson in Violence - both of which blew my mind - and then I went back and got into their classic era, which is not as good as their reunion era. That's a rare narrative arc in aggressive music.

Here's a band who managed to have every career setback in the book - losing key members, albums being delayed, unhelpful production, cheap and nnnnasty ddddrugs, clueless labels, etc, etc... But the musical language of Holt's riffing style with Hunting's drumming really is top level, they generate incredible kinetic energy. Holt can groove with intensity, while Hunting is relentlessly precise - when they're on, they're on at the level of Slayer or Pantera. Very, very few bands can be heavy and fast, but Exodus can. But it is a patchy discography, driven by bad luck and dumb choices.

Bonded by Blood is the best thrash debut - it gets the balance between 70s metal riffs and punk aggression right almost immediately - but it is cheaply recorded and Baloff's vocals are bad. He might have been a great frontman, but he couldn't hack it in the studio. I don't think Zetro was an amazing upgrade, but at least he could do the job. Pound for pound Fabulous Disaster is their best 80s album, but I'll conceded there's too many goofy tunes to call it a classic. The good tunes (esp 'Last Act of Defiance') are fucking raging, though. Pleasures of the Flesh and Impact is Imminent have some amazing moments of musicianship but are let down by muddled compositions and clueless, clunky production.

When the world caught up with them and they got a great producer they made better music. The live album Another Lesson in Violence, is basically BbB done perfect (even Baloff is great!); though there's so much post-hoc studio tampering that it's more Kiss Alive than not... but the end product is such a blast, so I don't really care. Then in the 00s they grew up and fulfilled the promise of the music they invented. I'm a big fan now because of Tempo and the two Exhibit albums; the playing on those are peerless.

One last thing: I'm struck that post 2000, none of the big 4 have made a good album, but many second-tier bands from the 80s (Exodus, Testament, Overkill, Kreator, Destruction) might have released their best music in the second half of their careers. Must be something about how thrash works and the energy from pissed-off, middle-aged, blue-collar guys.

Anyway, TL;DR: they're fucking great and anyone who disagrees is a poser.

I agree with a lot of M.H.'s assessment, but Testament definitely peaked with The Legacy.

Every time I hear Exodus I make a face like I just swallowed a bug, so I guess I don't like Exodus.

Bonded by Blood looks like a Garbage Pail Kid card, so I'll give them a soft not crap for being as dumb as they wanted to be. Crap reinstated for how bad that record sounds.

crap.