Exodus – Blood In, Blood Out (2014)

With the latest Thrash revival still in full swing, and all the legendary bands releasing crushing albums, Exodus does not fall behind and they are releasing “Blood In, Blood Out”. Marking their first release without Rob Dukes in almost 10 years, the band fully takes advantage of the return of Steve Souza and crafts 11 tracks of solid Thrash Metal filled with all those awesome riffs that make you feel warm inside.

Quickly getting on the scoreboard, the band unleashes “Black 13”, a powerful track filled with Gary Holt and Lee Altus signature riffing and the typical Thrash Metal tempo we all enjoy. Steve’s vocals while not the favorite of many, they do a solid job in conveying the band’s lyrics in tracks like “Blood In, Blood Out”, charged with aggression. The band stays current and shows sings of incorporating more Groovy/Modern elements in songs like “Collateral Damage”, a thing they perfectly blend into their already established sound.

With original founding member Kirk Hammett doing a guest appearance on “Salt The wound”, delivering red hot guitar leads that he will most likely never be allowed to use with Metallica. As the album keeps pushing forward, the songs keep getting better and better with the intense solos of the devastating epic “Body Harvest”. The retro brilliance in the guitar work of “Btk” makes it the perfect song to have Chuck Billy guest on vocals.

As more riffing brilliance is delivered in tracks like “Wrapped in the Arms of Rage”, “My Last Nerve” and “Numb”, we are greatly impressed by how Altus and Holt manage to stay fresh and keep delivering awesome riffs over the years. The guitar work in this release is by far some of the best the band has delivered in years. Closing with “Food for the Worms”, we are completely satisfied by the sheer amount of brilliant passages found in this release as a whole. The band refuses to let their Thrash Metal fade, and “Blood In, Blood Out” is the perfect testament to it.

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Release: October 14th, 2014

Genre: Thrash Metal

Country: USA