EXODUS – Exhibit B: The Human Condition CD review

EXODUS – Exhibit B: The Human Condition CD
Nuclear Blast Records

I’ve always given this band credit for staying in the fight with all the problems they’ve gone through. The Baloff/Souza frontman switch off did lead to some fun debates but those days are gone, as is Baloff. Rob Dukes, whether you like him or not, is firmly planted behind that mic now. (???) Secondly he has lead this band through the Thrash revival by still keeping them relevant or at least good for a few surprises. What my peers seem to forget is that Dukes is in the Dio/SABBATH paradox. This is EXODUS for the newer generation of Thrash “therefore I am” enthusiasts. He wasn’t doing too bad trying to put the band’s past behind them with their two Dukes on the mic releases. Then in 2008 they fucked it all up by releasing Let There Be Blood. You know keeping a few classic cuts from the past in your live set which you never originally sang on wasn’t that bad. But to do the whole Bonded by Blood album and in your newer style well that was stupid in my not so humble opinion. I’d have to include my own foolishness since I saw it in the store then and automatically picked it up thinking “new EXODUS, yeah!” It wasn’t until I got home, pulled it out of the bag and looked hard at it then groaned “oh no”.

This newest one is somewhat redemption for that last mistake. I give Gary Holt alot of credit for writing material that’s far more than cheap rehash thrashers. The songs have gotten longer as in epic proportions and more intricate. It’s like what I mentioned earlier that you just don’t know what to expect from these guys anymore. A perfect example is opener “The Ballad of Leonard and Charles” with its acoustic intro. I literally jumped out of my chair, pulled the CD out from the stereo and examined it to see if it really was EXODUS. It was but things get moving in the right direction after that. I’d say half of this is righteous thrash with the rest being mediocre moments which by now we’ve become accustomed to. A friend of mine told me he could take the best songs from the Rob Dukes era of EXODUS, put them on a blank CD and still have room for Bonded by Blood. Ouch! Yeah he is not a huge fan of Dukes growled type vocals but to the man’s credit he does expand his vocal style on here. Some of the better cuts are “Hammer And Life”, “Class Dismissed”, “March of the Sycophants”, “Democide” and “The Sun is My Destroyer”. Not all of which are thrashers in fact “The Sun is My Destroyer” is slightly more death metal oriented. This is a long CD coming in at over an hour which is like two thrash records from the 80s. I’ve got the American release version which has the extra cut “Devil’s Teeth”. Supposedly the Japanese version has a SCORPIONS cover??? Maybe I don’t want to know?

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