EXODUS
Shovel Headed Kill Machine
Nuclear Blast Records 2006
www.exodusattack.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
The San Francisco thrashers return with their 7th studio album (10th release overall), the follow up to the 2003 CD Tempo of the Damned. This CD marks the debut of brand new vocalist Rob Dukes.

Genre
Heavy Metal / thrash metal

The Good
You have to give the band credit for not holding anything back. From the beginnings of the lead track “Raze” to the gut ripping title track, they not only drive 55 but also go a lot faster than that.“Raze” is a fire all guns album opener that would rip anyone from their laziness. It dares you to not pay attention and then grabs you by the throat and makes you do just that. Rob Dukes comes off very well in his debut recording with the band. Exodus is Gary Holt’s baby, but you have to have a singer that can hold his own against all the metal histrionics and Dukes does it. He’s not perfect, but his razorblades and gravel screaming certainly gets the job done.

The vocal on “Karma’s Messenger” actually lifts a kind of mediocre track up nicely. There is a triumvirate of simply fantastic songs that shine far and above everything else. “Altered Boy” is an attack on the entire Catholic Church sex scandal that just rips the offenders to shreds. “Going Going Gone” has a really magnificent vocal phrasing and the chorus is excellent. The best song however is “I Am Abomination.” The vocals from Dukes alternate between the screaming and a slightly deeper tone during the chorus. Once again, a superb choice of vocal phrasing, particularly in the chorus, make this a song worth hearing.

The Bad
For a thrash album, which prides itself on being an in your face dose of pulse pounding slap you in your face music, I found a few of the tracks to be rather flat. They had the requisite thrash speed and everything but songs like “Shudder To Think” and “Now Thy Death Day Come” came across more like filler material rather than the best songs the band came up with for the album.

The Verdict
My only previous experience with Exodus is the Fabulous Disaster CD, and that is pretty much due to the track “The Toxic Waltz.” They’ve just been one of those bands that continually have stayed below my “to buy” radar. While Shovel Headed Kill Machine is less than perfect, it does live up to advance hype and signals that Exodus isn’t just hanging around, they are a vital component of today’s resurgent metal scene.

Did You Know?
The original singer for Exodus, Paul Baloff, died after a stroke in 2002. Exodus was the opening band on the original Headbanger’s Ball Tour with Anthrax and Helloween. Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett was a founding member of Exodus.

Rating: out of 5

-- Jay Roberts