EXODUS

It’s been six long years since Bay Area thrashers Exodus released an album, and a lot has happened in that time. Long-time vocalist Steve Souza made his departure from the band in the midst of a huge spat with Gary Holt. I won’t go into the gory details, but let’s just say it got messy. With that being said, the band reached out to former frontman Rob Dukes, enticing him to rejoin despite his contentious 2014 exit. I must say it’s been a whirlwind for the vocalist spot in the band, but the dust has now settled, and Dukes is the man once more. As confusing as this sounds, the group jumped ship from Nuclear Blast to Napalm Records just in time to unleash Goliath with hideous album cover art. With my background in visual arts, I do not find this image appealing to the eye; however, the music is what counts the most. So I can look past this abominable cover art and dig into ten studio tracks.

The opening track, ‘3111’ lumbers a bit at the start for about a minute and a half before it erupts with a solid riff. Dukes sounds shrill and raspy when his vocals do cut in, but the middle section around three minutes just goes to shit in my opinion. I was quite disappointed with this number, to be perfectly honest. I did, however, get a surprise with track two’s explosive opening; blasting riffs in that familiar wall of sound the band is noted for. The track is entitled ‘Hostis Humani Generis’, which translates in English to “enemy of the human race”, and is a banger for the most part. The solo around the three-minute mark fares much better here, and the chugging crunch is music to my ears. Track three is a little long in the tooth for my tastes, but ‘The Changing Me’ aims to interject a little melody into the mix. You can hear it plainly in the solo, and I’m going to say modern Kreator comes to mind here as a comparison. I am also not a fan of the “whiny” guitar tone that’s so prevalent in the back half of the track. Moving on to ‘Promise You This’, the song brings some heft and crunch, and harks back to the Pleasures Of The Flesh-era Exodus. There’s an audible chorus here and an attempt for Dukes to sing cleanly, but it’s a far cry from what the band did on Pleasures.

Up next, we get the title track ‘Goliath’ that lumbers along at such a boring pace. Finally, at the two-minute mark, you get a rise out of Dukes with those raspy shrieks, but not much after that. There’s an attempt at a decent chorus, but it falls flat for me; the song just ends on a whimper. Then the balls-out thrasher ‘Beyond The Event Horizon’ brings some energy and fire to the proceedings. The chugging guitars and aggressive vocals carry much of it, including the dynamic solo tacked on at the end. ‘2 Minutes Hate’ goes for some groovy tones, along with a good enough chorus. I dig the solo here, especially when Holt and Altus cut loose to play off each other. Track eight, ‘Violence Works,’ plays into a similar formula, with a wonky opening and crunchy grooves throughout. It’s short, but potent enough to allow both Holt and Altus to continue doing what they do best as premier shredders.

The longest track, ‘Summon Of The God Unknown’, is the ninth offering on this record and strives to bring melodic power to new levels. The first half is somewhat mid-paced, but I do like how it picks up halfway through, allowing Dukes to sing cleanly enough in a surprisingly good way. My one caveat here is that it’s too long and could easily be whittled down by three minutes. The remaining track, ‘The Dirtiest Of The Dozen, ‘ storms hard out of the gate with an impressive array of duelling guitars and electrifying bass work from Jack Gibson. This might be my favourite track of the bunch, given its high energy and musical mastery at work. As a closing number, it ends on a satisfying note for a thrash record needing to find a proper place in the thrash pantheon of their discography.

I think twelve records in, Exodus has nothing to prove to long-time thrash fans. They have cemented their legacy in the sub-genre, and you know what you are getting with each new studio recording. What bugs me the most is the constant shifting of vocalists and all the turmoil it seems to bring every few years. I have nothing against Dukes personally, but he’s not my vocalist of choice. I’ve always preferred the nasally sneer of Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza at the helm, and it’s a shame he isn’t part of the band anymore. With that being said, Rob Dukes is decent enough on Goliath, but this is not Shovel Headed Kill Machine by any means. I liked the aggressive energy he brought to that record on his first outing with the band, but here it’s more “meh” than anything else. At least the guitar work is kick ass, so that has to count for something in the long run. As a long-time fan of the band, I’m giving this a favourable review; your mileage may vary depending on who you prefer behind the mic. Check them out on tour in the Spring with Kreator in the UK and back in the States with Sepultura. Goliath is here to reign supreme.