UMUR "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" is the Seventh full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Exodus. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in October 2005. It´s the successor to "Tempo of the Damned" from 2004. An album which was both a comeback album for the band (their last album at the time was "Force of Habit" from 1992) and a reunitement with "classic"-era Exodus lead vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza. The reunited band soon began fighting though as old issues emerged and Souza left again and was replaced by Rob Dukes. There have however been further lineup changes as guitarist Rick Hunolt has been replaced by Lee Altus (Heathen, Die Krupps) and drummer Tom Hunting has been replaced by Paul Bostaph (Forbidden, Slayer). So the only remaining members from the lineup who recorded "Tempo of the Damned (2004)" are bassist Jack Gibson and guitarist Gary Holt. Out of those two it´s only the latter who is a founding member of Exodus.

Holt has however always been the main composer for the band, so multible lineup changes or not the material on "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" is unmistakably the sound of Exodus. Dukes has a relatively similar snarling raw vocal style to Souza, although he is slightly less distinct sounding, but he generally does a great job here carrying on the legacy. Bostaph is clearly a hired gun here, because he adds zero personal touch to the drumming on the album, and more or less just mimmicks the drumming style of Hunting. I count one part with double pedalling bass drums (which is actually nicely refreshing and suits the music well), which is not something you´d hear Hunting do, but that´s about it. Other than that I wouldn´t have guessed it wasn´t Hunting playing if I didn´t know better. Anyone familiar with new guitarist Lee Altus know that he is a very skilled musician, so replacing Hunolt is not an issue.

"Shovel Headed Kill Machine" is an aggressive, fast-paced, and heavy thrash metal release and the natural step forward from "Tempo of the Damned (2004)". The tracks are slighly less memorable and rely more on power and aggression, but that doesn´t mean the tracks aren´t catchy and effectful. This is an album loaded with classic Exodus riffs and rhythms, and the vocals and the lyrics are also reminiscent of preceding output. Tracks like "Deathamphetamine", "Shudder to Think", and "Altered Boy" (featuring lyrics dealing with the many cases of Catholic priests and their abuse of alter boys) are among the highlights, but I could just as well have mentioned tracks like "I Am Abomination" and "Going Going Gone".

"Shovel Headed Kill Machine" and especially poor Dukes often don´t receive praise from reviewers/fans talking about them, but to my ears "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" is a strong release and Dukes performance here deserves a lot more credit than it´s been given. I´d call him a near perfect replacement for Souza (and probably expose myself to the wrath of the hardcore Souza fans). A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Kingcrimsonprog If like me the thought of radical line up shifts in your favourite bands makes you roll your eyes you may have missed out on 2005′s Shovel Headed Kill Machine, an album with only one original member on board. The fact that the new guitarist was Lee Atlus of Heathen and the drummer was the great Paul Bostaph of Forbidden and Slayer should have been enough to convince me that this album would be decent enough album with so much bay area credentials to warrant a token listen, but I foolishly let the album pass me buy.

After seeing the error of my ways after watching Shovel Headed Tour Machine on DVD and instantly falling in love with new singer Rob Dukes (and indeed helped by the stability of the line up over the next three albums and the extra legitimacy given by original drummer Tom Hunting returning) I finally got around to listening to Shovel Headed Kill Machine.

What an album it is, it manages to retain everything good about the band’s heritage without sounding like a nostalgia act, it is a perfect segue between the bands later more bleak and scathing work and their more fun past. On top of it all, it is full of excellent and memorable songs with catchy choruses, cool guitar solos and the singular riff style that makes Exodus so unique.

The absolute highlight for me is ‘Shudder to Think,’ an upper-mid tempo chugging number that recalls the style of classics like ‘Brain Dead,’ and ‘Toxic Waltz,’ but with all the modern serious approach you now expect from the band. Other great moments include the groovier ‘I Am Abomination,’ the catchy as hell ‘Going Going Gone,’ which has an almost Fabulous Disaster quality and the anti peadophile semi-epic ‘Altered Boy,’ which features some of the most interesting and bendy riffs to ever come out of Garry Holt and co.

Garry Holt really is a truly underrated artist who deserves immense credit not only for his role in the band’s past but his amazing job keeping the ship afloat all these years and especially for making this album sound so very Exodus when all the changes and the passage of time threatened to stop that from being so.

If you have any interest in Exodus whatsoever you owe it to yourself to check this album out and let it sink in. This is far from a throw away album, it is essential listening and if I was feeling bold, I would go as far as to suggest it is the best album the band have ever released.