Exodus – Blood In, Blood Out
Exodus
Blood In, Blood Out
Nuclear Blast, 2014
Exodus is one of those bands who never truly got their due or were fully appreciated. For a lot of people, Exodus was an interesting footnote as Kirk Hammet’s band before joining the band he’s now better known for. But Exodus have fared the years and arrived at this moment, with a new release, alarming for just how consistently good it is, and unrelentingly brutal. This is their tenth full length studio release.
“Body Harvest” is one of the stand out numbers on this solid release, with some fun tempo shifts in it to keep the songwriting interesting. “Collateral Damage,” “BTK,” and “My Last Nerve” are slower more down-tempo songs (relatively speaking) and are pillars on this disc. There’s some great use of tension and space on “My Last Nerve.”
The guitar on “Honor Killings” seems to obliquely reference Middle Eastern music throughout, giving some unexpected depth to the song. “Wrapped in the Arms of Rage” is a song made for neck braces; opening with a double quick riff before finding it’s groove. “Food for the Worms” closes out the disc and pummels away at the speakers mercilessly.
Exodus is in fine form here from start to finish, and part of the current re-surgence in better quality, interesting heavy metal after what feels like a endless drought of repetitive and redundant noise. The entire band shines brightly as repeated playing proves there’s not a flat spot to be found.
