Exodus - Bonded by Blood (1985)^{Release ID: 1480}

Exodus' debut, released back in 1985, is their best by quite some way in my book (although I do have a bit of a soft spot for 2004's Tempo of the Damned too). Really pacy and dynamic riffing with some pretty hot solos and sing-a-long choruses put this up on a par with many of thrash's early classics. For some reason Bonded by Blood isn't considered as indispensible as other early thrash classics by everyone however. There are probably a couple of reasons for this, the drums are merely functional and Paul Baloff's crazed vocals aren't to everyone's taste, but the real reason is probably due to hindsight and the fact that Exodus' subsequent output reached neither the level of this debut or of their contemporaries' later releases (Master of Puppets and Peace Sells.. were still in the future back then, remember) and so the band as a whole are not spoken of in the same breath as the likes of Metallica, Megadeth and even Testament, although I think this is a better album than any Chuck Billy's crew put out. Bonded by Blood, Metal Command and Strike of the Beast are chugging classics that stand against anything from the time. But, goddamn... that cover is still fuckin' horrible!

In the eyes of many metalheads, heaviness can be a more defining factor than writing ability.  This is why some more simplistic albums, like Kreator's Pleasure to Kill, are more well-received than many of their more creative efforts later on.  So since this is Exodus' debut, it's not much of a surprise that a few of the songs have the same tempo and vibe.  This album helped to push the limits of what was generally accepted in metal at the time.  You can tell from the structures of the songs that these guys listened to a fair bit of that old-fashioned NWOBHM stuff like Iron Maiden, which explains the thankful focus on melody and riffs being handled and treated like equals.  That's a difficult thing to do for a lot of thrash bands.  Unfortunately for me, I'm a Metallica guy, and I'm that way because their golden age is diversified, exceptionally poetic and has a vocalist who doesn't need all those effects to maintain a form of power.  I'm certain this singer here's done that without effects on other albums, but it was a faint distraction for me.

Now if I wanna pump myself up, I might choose a couple of songs from this album for the sake of that.  The fact that each song goes for the same vibe, core and genre does in fact mean it's not a very creative effort in that vein, but the balance of melody and riffs is quite impressive, ensuring that Bonded By Blood is a consistently great effort and a good example of how to do thrash right, even if it's technically just one way.

Exodus’ Bonded by Blood is quite rightly hailed as a cornerstone and firm exemplar of thrash metal’s early days, a benchmark and measuring stick for others of its kind, one of the classics.

It might seem a bit odd to say ‘quite rightly’ when I myself give it a more middling score. That’s because, as good as the album is at what it sets out to do, in certain regards that goal just isn’t as ambitious as some of its peers, and so while it remains a satisfying brick to the jaw, its identity can feel less flavourful compared to others.

It isn’t trying to be especially dark or extreme or smart. It just wants to belt out thrash metal, and to do it well, to do it forcefully. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, of course, and they do it well. It’s also worth noting that this came out in 1985, and simply playing flat-out thrash metal (as opposed to a more wild form of classic heavy metal) was by itself pretty ballsy and fresh. So you can certainly appreciate the impact it had at the time, acting like a codifier for the whole genre at a time when there weren’t many other examples of that, or at least that pulled it off this energetically. But it does mean that, in hindsight, the album can lack some identity.

This is exemplified also in the lyrics. Baloff belts out with every bit of force and bile you could want, there’s nothing lacking in their delivery. But where Slayer or Kreator might plumb darker, more visceral depths, calling up grotesque tapestries of hellish violence, and others like Megadeth and Metallica hurl venomous satire at more real-world but no less gritty topics like war and socio-political issues, Bonded by Blood is an album of metal, through and through. In a way, that gives it its appeal, since it’s so firmly ‘by metalheads, for metalheads, about metalheads’. But lyrically it’s very content to sit within that one, safe region, to revel in its roots. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it can feel a little unambitious, especially as the album ages and those lyrical pathways become heavily worn, and especially since most tracks end up covering the same ground in not-that-different ways.

All that said, I reiterate: Bonded by Blood does what it does well. This thing is pulling absolutely no punches for 1985, cementing what thrash was at the time. It stabs the genre’s head-banging, neck-breaking, throat-ripping flag squarely into the landscape.

“Metal Command” and “Bonded by Blood” are rock solid thrash anthems even on an album where the whole identity is to be “the thrash anthem”. “Strike of the Beast” has instantly gripping riffs: “Someone’s about to die, and that someone…IS YOU!” It’s a solid gold banger.

Even the tracks less commonly heralded as classics are quality. “No Life” shifts gears without losing any power, and heralds some of what would become Exodus’ trademark bite. “Piranha” fucking (appropriately) rips. It’s short, sharp, to the point, and that solo section ERUPTS like Holt and Hunolt just got electrocuted straight to the balls. Then right back into that galloping, irresistible riff.

Bonded by Blood might not have quite the same hold on you if it didn’t play a role in your own journey into the genre, and its somewhat indulgent contentment with being ‘metal about metal’ might not stand out as much as some others. But there’s also no denying it never lacks enthusiasm for what it does. It’s an album that loves thrash, and it wants you to love it too.

Choice cuts: Bonded by Blood, Metal Command, No Love, Strike of the Beast, Piranha