Bonded By Blood

Untitled Document Before there was Metallica and before there was Slayer, there was Exodus. Exodus was formed in 1981 by singer Paul Baloff, guitarists Gary Holt and Kirk Hammet, bassist Geoff Andrews, and drummer Tom Hunting. They were one of the first bands responsible for launching the Bay Area Thrash/Speed Metal Wave. Exodus's 1982 demo, Whipping Queen and Death and Domination, helped them solidify their standing as the bay area's first thrash champions. But a few setbacks would allow a couple of other well known acts to really pave the way for Thrash/Speed Metal. Shortly after the Exodus demo was released, main axe-man Kirk Hammet defected to Metallica. Then Exodus would recruit guitarist Rick Hunolt to replace Hammet and bassist Rob McKillop to replace Andrews. Exodus's debut album for Torrid/Comabt Records, "Bonded By Blood", was originally recorded in 1984. However, the album would not be released until 1985 due to numerous record company-related difficulties. These setbacks allowed landmark albums like Metallica's 1983 release, "Kill 'Em All" and Slayer's 1983 release, "Show No Mercy", to break the Bay Area Thrash/Speed Metal movement wide open. Exodus was now part of the pack it once was the leader of. "Bonded By Blood" is nine tracks of speedy, aggressive guitar riffing, fast paced drum pounding and "screaming at the top of your lungs" vocals. Just based on the evil looking album cover, (two babies;,one normal and one demonic, their backsides "bonded by blood"), you know you are in for a roller coaster ride of break neck thrash/speed metal. Just to describe a few of the tracks: "Bonded By Blood", the title track starts, off with something that sounds like a bomb or a plane descending from the sky. Then the thrashing begins; "bang you head against the stage and metal takes its price, bonded by blood" . This song sets the tone and pace for the rest of the album; rambunctious, intense, fiery, aggressive, angry. "Metal Command" is a concert favorite; an anthem for speed metal thrashers with lyrics like, "fists are in the air,.banging everywhere, thrashing to the sound, faces melting down, it s time to fight, for metal tonight, bangers take your stand and obey, our metal command". Kind of reminds me of Metallica's "Metal Militia". Then again, Kirk Hamster was in Exodus before Metallica. My favorite Exodus track of all time is "Piranha". The tempo of this song matches that of the deadly fish "stripping your bones and flesh, ripping out your eyes and tearing off your face". Excellent dual guitar shredding and flashy lead guitar solos. One of the most interesting tracks is "No Love", which starts off with some classical acoustic guitars only to break out into heavier playing right after. This song is actually about 35 miles per hour as opposed to the "I can't drive 75" speed. In 1989 Combat re-issued "Bonded By Blood" with a crappy new cover and two live tracks that featured Steve Souza on vocals. Many people in the metal community would agree that "Bonded By Blood" is an important release whose influence on other bands and the thrash/speed metal world way exceeds the credit and notoriety it actually deserved.