Exodus: Furious Return from the Grave

 

Rob Dukes is back, bitches. And don't get me wrong.

Paul Baloff was the best vocalist Exodus ever had. Steve "Zetro" Souza gave the band some electrifying moments. But with Dukes, Exodus transforms into something else. They become more brutal, more aggressive, like an even darker and more menacing alter ego. With Dukes, there's no room for black humor. Everything turns into a chilling horror movie that never stops.

This is album number 13, if I'm not mistaken. It's called Goliath. A few months ago, I finished reading Gary Holt's biography, A Fabulous Disaster, and one thing became clear. Holt and I have been in some pretty dark places. Increasingly so. And that is reflected in everything we do.

It's already been 41 years since the legendary Bonded By Blood was released, one of my favorite thrash metal albums. It's incredible how much time has passed. Let's be honest: Metallica and Exodus invented thrash metal. Metallica got lost a long time ago.

The riffs on "3111" are brutal. Holt has managed to absorb some of the sonic horror from his work with Slayer and now integrates it astonishingly well with Exodus. Goliath is an album that gives you chills. The riffs from Holt and Lee Altus, who's contributing more and more to the band's songwriting process, are some of the best we'll hear this year in the world of extreme metal. Period.

Hearing Tom Hunting's drums on "Hostis Humanis Generis" gives you goosebumps. A man who came back from death and sounds like he's no longer afraid of absolutely anything. Alongside him, Jack Gibson, whose bass roars constantly like a ferocious engine, forming an extraordinary rhythm section that crushes everything in its path.

At times, Dukes reminds me of Souza. But Souza never sounded this beastly.

"The Changing Me" is an absolute gem. Epic guitars that recall a bit of Iron Maiden and more cerebral metal, over devastating drums. Few bands can create such addictive rhythms in the thrash world. Metallica and Exodus. No one else.

I have no words for "Promise You This." One of the best pieces of modern thrash metal, with some Southern rock touches. Multidimensional, with an impeccable structure, featuring a Dukes more powerful than James Hetfield and spitting more venom than Dave Mustaine. Without a doubt, Dukes and Chuck Billy are the best vocalists in contemporary thrash metal. Never monotonous. Expressive to the extreme.

The lyrics say it all:

We fall then we rise up again  

Never knowing how to lose, we never bend  

I promise you this  

We crawl through the lies yet again  

They keep us so confused, they never end  

I promise you this  

Hard times make for harder men  

We do as we choose, we don't pretend  

I promise you this  

We hit back harder than we get  

You ain't seen nothing yet, we never miss  

I promise you this

And if anyone still had any doubts, there's the title track. "Goliath" is one of the heaviest pieces we'll hear this year. Hunting sounds colossal. The band edges toward doom metal. Black Sabbath, Melvins, Black Flag, Crowbar. All assimilated, filtered, and transformed in a strident and monumental way.

"Beyond the Event Horizon" brings back the classic Bay Area thrash sound. Half Exodus, half Slayer, the dimension Holt now inhabits permanently. Maybe Exodus doesn't sound like a technical and brutal fighter like Testament, nor like a martial artist like Megadeth. But Exodus is a street fighter. Lethal, full of tricks, with techniques drawn from unsuspected sources. And that's their main strength.

Past the midpoint of the album, the band starts to lose the thread. Experiments begin. They're not bad, but they steal momentum from what was being built.

"2 Minute Hate" is one of the weak points. The band restrained, playing the kind of heavy metal that made Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth famous more than a decade ago. A nostalgic exercise that doesn't fully convince coming from them. "Violence Works" steps away from the frantic rhythms and starts playing with elements derived from nu metal. It doesn't sound bad, but the album begins to lose weight. The last four tracks aren't bad and add diversity, but they distract from the brutal attack of the first ones. What could have been an almost perfect album falls just a few cuts short of being one.

Even so, Goliath is a jaw dropping punch that few will forget this year.