Review by Ben for Exhorder - Slaughter in the Vatican (1990)

Exhorder will always be remembered for having a vocalist that sounded exactly like Phil Anselmo and a similar sound to boot. Whether or not Pantera copied Exhorder or vice versa has been an endless argument without any real resolution. The fact of the matter is that both bands released their debut thrash metal albums in 1990 and both albums are well worth picking up. Only one of the two bands went on to massive things, but that’s due to Pantera’s commercial attractiveness and variety rather than any lack of quality on Exhorder’s part.

Slaughter in the Vatican is brutal thrash metal that pulls no punches. With a fantastic production that really lets their aggressive sound smash the listener to a pulp, it’s not surprising that these guys didn’t make their way into the mainstream the way Pantera did, despite the similarities. Chris Nail’s drumming is relentless and awesome. Vinnie and Jay’s riffs were groove-laden yet crushing. Kyle Thomas’s vocals may not have had the range of Anselmo’s, but his aggressive growl is just as awesome.

Homicide (check out how much this sounds like Deicide!), The Tragic Period and Legions of Death are the highlights on a solid, heavy thrash metal album that deserves a place in any thrash metal collection. Try to get your hands on the limited (to 2000) remastered digipak from Metal Mind.