EXODUS

Thrash Metal / Groove Metal • United States
MetalMusicArchives.com — the ultimate metal music online community, from the creators of progarchives.com
EXODUS picture
Exodus is one of the first thrash metal bands to come out of the bay area, formed in 1980 in San Francisco, California, by Kirk Hammett, Tom Hunting, Paul Baloff, Jeff Andrews, and Gary Holt.

They were cited as major influence by pretty much every thrash band. Known for their aggressive brand of thrash, as opposed to the more melodic, NWOBHM rooted thrash sound of the likes of Metallica, and equally aggressive live shows.

At their prime (83-86) they were known as 'Kings of the Bay (area)', with practically no band daring to headline over them at the bay area.

After several personnel changes, Exodus split in 1993. The band reformed from 1997-1998 with new bassist Jack Gibson. The band reformed a second time in 2001.

In 1983, founding member Kirk Hammett left to join Metallica and was replaced by Rick Hunolt and Rob McKillop replaced Andrews on
read more...
Thanks to m@x, UMUR, Time Signature, Vim Fuego for the updates

EXODUS Online Videos

See all EXODUS videos

Buy EXODUS music

More places to buy metal & EXODUS music

EXODUS Discography

EXODUS albums / top albums

EXODUS Bonded by Blood album cover 4.07 | 57 ratings
Bonded by Blood
Thrash Metal 1985
EXODUS Pleasures of the Flesh album cover 3.42 | 30 ratings
Pleasures of the Flesh
Thrash Metal 1987
EXODUS Fabulous Disaster album cover 4.33 | 56 ratings
Fabulous Disaster
Thrash Metal 1988
EXODUS Impact Is Imminent album cover 3.74 | 26 ratings
Impact Is Imminent
Thrash Metal 1990
EXODUS Force of Habit album cover 3.00 | 18 ratings
Force of Habit
Groove Metal 1992
EXODUS Tempo of the Damned album cover 4.08 | 30 ratings
Tempo of the Damned
Thrash Metal 2004
EXODUS Shovel Headed Kill Machine album cover 4.12 | 28 ratings
Shovel Headed Kill Machine
Thrash Metal 2005
EXODUS The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A album cover 3.77 | 26 ratings
The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A
Thrash Metal 2007
EXODUS Let There Be Blood album cover 3.05 | 12 ratings
Let There Be Blood
Thrash Metal 2008
EXODUS Exhibit B: The Human Condition album cover 4.08 | 22 ratings
Exhibit B: The Human Condition
Thrash Metal 2010
EXODUS Blood In, Blood Out album cover 3.98 | 14 ratings
Blood In, Blood Out
Thrash Metal 2014
EXODUS Persona Non Grata album cover 3.69 | 8 ratings
Persona Non Grata
Thrash Metal 2021

EXODUS EPs & splits

EXODUS Objection Overruled album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Objection Overruled
Thrash Metal 1990
EXODUS War Is My Shepherd album cover 5.00 | 2 ratings
War Is My Shepherd
Thrash Metal 2003
EXODUS Nuclear Blast Presents Thrash Metal album cover 1.00 | 1 ratings
Nuclear Blast Presents Thrash Metal
Thrash Metal 2008
EXODUS Bob Wayne / Exodus album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Bob Wayne / Exodus
Thrash Metal 2011
EXODUS Gathered At The Altar Of Blast album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Gathered At The Altar Of Blast
Thrash Metal 2018
EXODUS Mr. Pickles Thrashtacular album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Mr. Pickles Thrashtacular
Thrash Metal 2019

EXODUS live albums

EXODUS Good Friendly Violent Fun album cover 3.90 | 5 ratings
Good Friendly Violent Fun
Thrash Metal 1991
EXODUS Another Lesson in Violence album cover 4.58 | 6 ratings
Another Lesson in Violence
Thrash Metal 1997
EXODUS Live at the DNA 2004 album cover 5.00 | 1 ratings
Live at the DNA 2004
Thrash Metal 2005
EXODUS Bonded by Thrash album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Bonded by Thrash
Thrash Metal 2017
EXODUS British Disaster: The Battle of '89 (Live At The Astoria)! album cover 4.43 | 3 ratings
British Disaster: The Battle of '89 (Live At The Astoria)!
Thrash Metal 2024

EXODUS demos, promos, fans club and other releases (no bootlegs)

EXODUS 1982 Demo album cover 2.50 | 2 ratings
1982 Demo
Thrash Metal 1982
EXODUS Die by His Hand album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Die by His Hand
Thrash Metal 1983
EXODUS 1983 Rehearsal album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
1983 Rehearsal
Thrash Metal 1983
EXODUS Turk Street demo album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Turk Street demo
Thrash Metal 1984
EXODUS A Lesson in Violence album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
A Lesson in Violence
Thrash Metal 1984
EXODUS Pleasures of the Flesh album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Pleasures of the Flesh
Thrash Metal 1986
EXODUS Deranged album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Deranged
Thrash Metal 1987
EXODUS MTV Headbangers Ball album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
MTV Headbangers Ball
Thrash Metal 1989
EXODUS Four Albums and Still No Ballad album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Four Albums and Still No Ballad
Thrash Metal 1990
EXODUS Thorn In My Side album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Thorn In My Side
Thrash Metal 1992
EXODUS Live at Waldrock Festival album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Live at Waldrock Festival
Thrash Metal 2004
EXODUS Death Angel / Exodus/ Destruction / Dew-Scented album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Death Angel / Exodus/ Destruction / Dew-Scented
Thrash Metal 2004
EXODUS Exodus / Hypocrisy album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Exodus / Hypocrisy
Thrash Metal 2005
EXODUS Soilwork / Exodus album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Soilwork / Exodus
Thrash Metal 2007

EXODUS re-issues & compilations

EXODUS A Lesson in Violence album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
A Lesson in Violence
Thrash Metal 1991
EXODUS Lessons in Violence album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Lessons in Violence
Thrash Metal 1992
EXODUS Victims of Death - The Best of Decade of Chaos album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Victims of Death - The Best of Decade of Chaos
Thrash Metal 1999

EXODUS singles (3)

.. Album Cover
4.50 | 1 ratings
The Lunatic Parade
Thrash Metal 1990
.. Album Cover
0.00 | 0 ratings
Riot Act
Thrash Metal 2008
.. Album Cover
0.00 | 0 ratings
Hammer and Life
Thrash Metal 2010

EXODUS movies (DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS)

.. Album Cover
5.00 | 1 ratings
Combat Tour Live: The Ultimate Revenge
Thrash Metal 1985
.. Album Cover
0.00 | 0 ratings
Live at the DNA
Thrash Metal 2005
.. Album Cover
0.00 | 0 ratings
Double Live Dynamo
Thrash Metal 2008
.. Album Cover
0.00 | 0 ratings
Shovel Headed Tour Machine
Thrash Metal 2010

EXODUS Reviews

EXODUS British Disaster: The Battle of '89 (Live At The Astoria)!

Live album · 2024 · Thrash Metal
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
Kev Rowland
The full title of this album is ‘British Disaster! The Battle of ’89 Live At The Astoria’, from which one might guess this is a live recording from 35 years ago when the band were promoting their third album, ‘Fabulous Disaster’. They may have lost Kirk Hammett to Metallica before their debut album, but they never let that small matter get in the way of them making huge waves in the thrash scene and by the time of this recording they had already been playing for a decade, and it shows. This is hungry, angry and in your face, showing exactly why thrash made such a huge impact when it hit.

Back then the line-up was Steve Souza (vocals), Gary Holt (guitars), founder Tom Hunting (drums), Rick Hunolt (guitars), and Rob McKillop (bass), and it really says something about the band that the first three can still be found in the current version of the band. They have obviously given the title they have as it was recorded in London on March 8th, 1989, and they were touring ‘Fabulous Disaster’, but this is certainly not what one might think given the title as this is a triumph from beginning to end. Here we have a thrash band who have often been touted as one of the ‘Big 5’ alongside Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax and there is a strong argument for them to be included as such given the impact and importance of what they were doing in the Eighties (and given that Metallica have done nothing of note since ‘And Justice For All’ I would personally happily kick them out altogether). Here we have a band who are out to attack the UK on the last night of their headlining tour (supported by Acid Reign), before heading back to the USA to open for Anthrax, and the 20+ gigs in just over a month had the band incredibly honed and battle ready.

Thrash rarely gets better than this, and one can only wonder as to why it has taken so long for the tapes to be released, but at long last we have them. If you ever wondered what Exodus sounded like in their heyday and why they are still deemed to be so important then put this on and crank it up, LOUD!

EXODUS The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A

Album · 2007 · Thrash Metal
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
UMUR
"The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" is the eighth full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Exodus. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in October 2007. It´s the successor to "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" from 2005 and the album features one lineup change as drummer Paul Bostaph has been replaced by a returning Tom Hunting, who didn´t perform on "Shovel Headed Kill Machine".

The music on the album is in the trademark sharp, aggressive, and raw Exodus thrash metal style. Exodus were never known for being adventurous in terms of song structures or experimental musical ideas, and they´ve pretty much stuck to their concept since the release of their debut full-length studio album "Bonded By Blood" back in 1985, but as always they are full of fierce energy and raw thrashy attitude. It´s now the second album with lead vocalist Rob Dukes and while I don´t find him as distinct sounding or unique as Steve "Zetro" Souza, he does a great job on this album. The songs are all well composed albeit a bit formulaic and sometimes also a bit too long for their own good. Not all tracks needed the vers/chorus parts repeated three times. "Children Of A Worthless God" is one of the highlight of the album (Dukes even adds a bit of clean singing to this track), but tracks like "Riot Act" and "Funeral Hymn" are great tracks too. In fact "The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" is a strong album throughout, although the riffing style and the formulaic song structures make it a slightly one-dimensional listen.

The album is produced by Andy Sneap, and features a classic Sneap sound production. Meaty, powerful, heavy, and clear with all instruments and vocals audible in the mix. Upon Conclusion "The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" is another high quality thrash metal album from Exodus, but I do detect a bit of autopilot in the songwriting department. I know this is what the fans expect, but I could do with a bit more experimentation or at least a bit more variation. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

EXODUS Shovel Headed Kill Machine

Album · 2005 · Thrash Metal
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
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.

EXODUS Tempo of the Damned

Album · 2004 · Thrash Metal
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
UMUR
"Tempo of the Damned" is the 6th full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Exodus. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in February 2004. It´s the successor to "Force of Habit" from 1992 and quite a few things have happened in the 12 years between the two releases. Exodus disbanded in 1994 but reunited shortly in 1997 with original lead vocalist Paul Baloff to play some shows, which produced the "Another Lesson in Violence" live album in 1997, but they folded again in 1998. The untimely death of Baloff in 2002 paved the way for a reunion with lead vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza. There have been a couple of other lineup changes since the predecessor as drummer John Tempesta has been replaced by returning original drummer Tom Hunting and bassist Mike Butler has been replaced by Jack Gibson. Gary Holt and Rick Hunolt as always handle the guitars.

One of the first things you notice when listening to "Tempo of the Damned" is how sharp and powerful sounding the production is. This is an Andy Sneap production which suits the material perfectly. Exodus had a couple of releases in the past which featured sub par production jobs, but that´s certainly not the case with "Tempo of the Damned", which ranks among their best produced albums. The sound production provides the already powerful tracks with an extra boost and makes them even more powerful sounding than they already are.

So the sound production gives the band the best possible conditions to shine, and shine they do. "Tempo of the Damned" not only features high level musicianship on all posts but there are many well written, catchy, and raw thrash metal songs featured on the album. "Scar Spangled Banner" is a perfect way to open an album, and it´s Exodus at full force with a raw screaming Souza in front. It´s almost impossible to think of a better way to make your return to the scene. The following trio of tracks "War Is My Shepherd", "Blacklist", and "Shroud of Urine" continue the strong opening of the album. The album then continues with more great tracks like "Culling the Herd" and "Sealed With a Fist", and even the AC/DC cover "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" is delivered in great style. The groove laden Pantera influenced "Throwing Down" is quite different from anything I´ve hear from Exodus before and wasn´t initially a favorite, but it´s grown on me since. It may not be the most remarkable track on the album, but it´s still a good quality track.

The basic vers/chorus structure of the tracks are a minor issue to my ears, as it does become a little structurally formulaic and just slightly more creative song structures could have made the overall listening experience a little more rewarding. On the other hand there is also come comfort in vers/chorus structures, and when the material are as well written and powerful as it is on this release, my minor issue with the formulaic song structures becomes less important. "Tempo of the Damned" is through and through a high quality release and a 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

EXODUS Force of Habit

Album · 1992 · Groove Metal
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
UMUR
"Force of Habit" is the 5th full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Exodus. The album was released through Capitol Records in August 1992. It´s the successor to "Impact Is Imminent" from 1990 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Rob McKillop has been replaced by Mike Butler. "Force of Habit" was the last studio album by Exodus for a number of years, as internal turmoil and the shifting musical climate of the 90s made the band consider their options and disband in 1994. Lead vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza had already left in 1992, but the band continued to play shows after he jumped ship. Exodus would reunite shortly in 1997 with original lead vocalist Paul Baloff to play some shows, which produced the "Another Lesson in Violence" live album in 1997, but they folded again in 1998. The untimely death of Baloff in 2002 paved the way for a reunion with Souza, which resulted in the band releasing their comeback album "Tempo of the Damned" in 2004.

Stylistically the material on "Force of Habit" is unmistakably the sound of Exodus. Raw, aggressive, and highly energetic thrash metal played by technically skilled musicians featuring Souza´s sandpaper raw vocals in front. So far so good. The material on the 13 track, 68:40 minutes long album are well written, relatively catchy, and well produced too. Compared to the raw and unpolished sound production on "Impact Is Imminent (1990)", this one is a much better produced album. While the material are well written and the band also make sure there are some variation on the album in the form of the more traditional heavy metal/hard rock styled track "Good Day to Die" and the covers of "Bitch" by The Rolling Stones, and "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello, almost 70 minutes of playing time is at least a couple of tracks too long.

In many ways though "Force of Habit" is Exodus back on track after the slightly disappointing "Impact Is Imminent (1990)". Unfortunately for Exodus it was pretty much released on deaf ears, as their brand of thrash metal had become out of fashion by 1992 faster than you could say death metal/alternative hard rock. The music industry and music consumers can sometimes be faithless/illoyal when bigger money/something new and more interesting appears. It´s a shame because although "Force of Habit" is not the most remarkable Exodus release, it´s still a good quality thrash metal album and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.

EXODUS Movies Reviews

No EXODUS movie reviews posted yet.

EXODUS Shouts

Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Perfect Child Metal Related
SPIRAL STAIRCASE (PA)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Nachdenken Über Deutschland Hardcore Punk
HAMMERHEAD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pure Ecstasy Through Perforation Metalcore
DRAPED IN BLACK
Buy this album from MMA partners
Eternal Siege Sludge Metal
REGICIDE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ashen Womb Death Metal
PHRENELITH
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us