Exodus (American band)

Formation and early years (1979–1983)

The initial lineup of Exodus was formed in the late 1970s by guitarists Kirk Hammett and Tim Agnello, drummer/vocalist Tom Hunting and vocalist Keith Stewart while attending high school together. The band added bass guitarist Carlton Melson in 1980 and the quintet began making a name for themselves playing backyard parties and various school functions. They played mostly cover songs in the vein of 1970s hard rock and New wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) acts but also developed some of their own original songs. Things with Stewart did not work out and Hunting became the bands sole vocalist for some time. Carlton Melson was replaced in 1981 by bass guitarist Geoff Andrews. Tim Agnello would leave the group soon after to pursue a life of ministry in Stockton, California, leaving Exodus to perform as a power trio until a replacement was found in Hammett's friend and Exodus roadie Gary Holt.

Also in 1981, Hammett met El Cerrito resident Paul Baloff at a North Berkeley house party, a friendship that was started – according to Hammett – by their shared admiration for punk rock and 1970s heavy metal music. Baloff became the bands lead vocalist and the quintet recorded a 3-song demo tape in 1982, a release which would be Hammett's only recording with Exodus. The bands music began to incorporate elements of Hardcore punk into their NWOBHM roots and Exodus were considered the pioneers of the Bay area thrash metal scene. In November 1982, Exodus opened a show at San Francisco's Old Waldorf venue for Metallica, a then-relatively unknown (and unsigned) band from Los Angeles. As the band began playing more shows in Bay Area clubs, they gained a large, fervent fan base known for their violent concert behavior.

In early 1983, Hammett left Exodus to join Metallica on the recommendation of Mark Whitaker, leaving Gary Holt to effectively take creative control of the band. Hammett was replaced short term by Mike Maung followed by Evan McCaskey before finally finding a permanent replacement in guitarist Rick Hunolt. Geoff Andrews also left to start an early incarnation of pioneering death metal band Possessed and was replaced by bass guitarist Rob McKillop.

In the spring of 1984, Exodus entered Turk Street Studios with producer Doug Piercy to record demos of songs that would later appear on their debut album. The band was signed to New York based Torrid Records and Exodus prepared to enter Prairie Sun Recording Studios that summer.

Bonded By Blood and rise in popularity (1984–1991)

The band recorded their first album Bonded by Blood in the summer of 1984. Audio engineering college student Mark Whitaker, who had attended high school with Paul Baloff, oversaw management and record production for the band at the time. 1984 concert photos from Exodus shows at Aquatic Park's Eastern Front Metal Festival (with Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies) and Ruthie's Inn (with Megadeth and Slayer) were included on the album sleeve inserts. Originally titled A Lesson in Violence, the album was not released until April 1985 amidst creative and business setbacks. Whilst Bonded By Blood is considered a highly influential thrash metal album today, critics have regarded the delay in its release as having hindered the impact the album could have had. As Allmusic reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia would later write in his review for the album: "Had it been released immediately after it was recorded in 1984, Exodus' Bonded by Blood might be regarded today alongside Metallica's Kill 'Em All as one of the landmark albums responsible for launching the thrash metal wave". Exodus promoted the album by going on tour with Venom and Slayer. Four songs from their April 5, 1985 performance at Studio 54 in New York City were filmed and released on home video as Combat Tour Live: The Ultimate Revenge.

Shortly after touring for Bonded by Blood was complete, Paul Baloff was fired from the band allegedly due to his behavior related to alcohol and substance abuse and was replaced by Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had previously been the lead vocalist for Legacy, an early incarnation of fellow Bay Area thrashers Testament. Baloff went on to form the band Piranha in 1987.

Exodus' line-up remained stable for the recording of their next two albums, and the underground success attained with Bonded by Blood would lead to the group's signing to Sony/Combat Records, who released the band's second effort Pleasures of the Flesh in 1987. The album was engineered by then-unknown Sylvia Massy, who would go on to produce two releases by progressive rock band Tool. Fabulous Disaster, the group's third full-length album, was released in 1989. A music video for the song "The Toxic Waltz" would receive consistent rotation on MTV's Headbangers Ball. While promoting Fabulous Disaster, Exodus embarked on the Headbangers Ball tour with Anthrax and Helloween, which brought the band to a wider audience.

After the success of Fabulous Disaster, Exodus was signed to Capitol Records in 1989, who released the band's fourth album Impact is Imminent the following year. Prior to recording the album, Tom Hunting left the band for personal reasons and was replaced by John Tempesta on drums. In 1991, the band released their first live album, Good Friendly Violent Fun, which was recorded during their 1989 tour.

Force of Habit, hiatus, and temporary reunion (1991–2000)

After the release of Good Friendly Violent Fun, the band toured sporadically for a year. Bass guitarist McKillop was replaced by Michael Butler before the group recorded and released their next studio album titled Force of Habit in 1992. This album was something of a departure from the band's signature sound, containing several slower, "heavier" songs with less emphasis on the speed/thrash aspect of their older material. The 11-minute song "Architect of Pain" is a good example of the change of direction, having a much slower, grindier feel than the usual high tempo thrash they had become known for. After touring for Force of Habit was completed, behind-the-scenes issues as well as a changing musical environment prompted the band to split up.

After a few years of dormancy, Holt and Hunolt reunited with singer Paul Baloff and drummer Tom Hunting along with new bass guitarist Jack Gibson for a short tour in 1997. They released a live album titled Another Lesson in Violence recorded at the Trocadero Transfer in front of a home town audience. However, the group disbanded again the following year, in part due to a falling out with record label Century Media over the way promotion for the live album was handled, and over an aborted attempt at a live concert video which was filmed but never released due to a financial dispute.

Second reformation, death of Paul Baloff and Tempo of the Damned (2001–2004)

In 2001, Exodus reformed once again with the 1997 lineup, initially to play the Chuck Billy benefit Thrash of the Titans concert. There was talk of recording a new studio album and the band continued to play shows in and around the San Francisco Bay Area.

However, on February 2, 2002, Paul Baloff died after suffering a stroke. Former vocalist Steve Souza was brought back into the band to finish the rest of their concert commitments. Although it appeared to outsiders that with Baloff's death Exodus would cease to exist, guitarist Gary Holt was determined to release a new studio album. The result was 2004's Tempo of the Damned released on Nuclear Blast Records. An oddity of the recording sessions was that one track, "Crime of the Century", was dropped under mysterious circumstances. The song chronicled Exodus's time under Century Media (of which Nuclear Blast is a subsidiary). Although it was publicly denied, rumors swirled that Century Media forced the song off the record. "Crime of the Century" was replaced with "Impaler", a song which was written when Kirk Hammett was still in the band, and was previously featured on the Another Lesson in Violence live record.

Lineup change and next three albums (2005–2013)

Steve Souza once again left the band due to business and personal differences in 2004. Gary Holt subsequently issued a statement in which he was heavily critical of Souza, claiming he had suddenly left the band while on tour only a day before they were due to leave for a show in Mexico City. Exhumed frontman Matt Harvey filled in for the Mexico City date and Steev Esquivel (ex-Defiance and Skinlab) played on the fall South American dates. The band eventually found a permanent replacement in Rob Dukes.

In 2005, Rick Hunolt left the band to focus on his family. He was replaced by Heathen guitarist Lee Altus. Tom Hunting also took leave of the band following a re-occurrence of the nervous problems that led to his temporary departure in 1989. Hunting was replaced with Paul Bostaph who had previously played with Slayer and Testament. The revamped line up released the album Shovel Headed Kill Machine in 2005. The tour for the album led to extensive travel of the US, Europe, and Japan, as well as their first-ever visit to Australia.

Tom Hunting returned to the band in March 2007 in time to record and release their 8th studio album The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A. They performed at the Wacken Open Air Festival in the summer of 2008. In April 2009, Exodus embarked on a co-headlining North American tour with Kreator and also featuring Belphegor, Warbringer, and Epicurean. Exodus then went on tour supporting Arch Enemy along with Arsis and Mutiny Within.

Exodus provided the voices of the customers at the Duncan Hills Coffee Shop and five of the sick people in Cartoon Network's Metalocalypse.

Exodus released a re-recording of their 1985 debut album Bonded by Blood entitled Let There Be Blood in 2008. Gary Holt released the following statement about the band's decision to revisit their debut album: "After many years in the planning and discussion stage, we have finally completed the re-recording of 'Bonded By Blood'. We have decided to call it 'Let There Be Blood' and it is our way of paying homage to [late singer] Paul Baloff by showing how relevant these songs we had written together still are. We aren't trying to replace the original; that's impossible anyway. We are just giving these songs the benefit of modern production. It's something we talked about before Paul's death and it's always been important to us to do. We were super excited about entering the studio once again to record these classics, and now it's back to writing the next studio record!"

The album Exhibit B: The Human Condition was recorded in northern California with British producer Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Arch Enemy, Kreator) and released on Nuclear Blast Records in May 2010. It was announced in January 2010 that Exodus was to be on Megadeth's Rust in Peace 20th Anniversary tour along with Testament. Exodus was featured on the cover of Decibel magazine's June 2010 issue, with a feature article on them.

Exodus co-headlined with Kreator, Suicidal Angels and Death Angel on the Thrashfest tour in late 2010 and were one of the headlining bands at Wacken Open Air 2011.

Exodus toured with Rob Zombie and Slayer in 2011 on their Hell on Earth tour as the opening act. Gary Holt filled in for Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman during the tour after Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis caused by a spider bite. Holt filled in for Hanneman again on Slayers next tour in the summer of 2012. When Exodus also toured in the summer of 2012, guitarist Rick Hunolt (who left Exodus in 2005) filled in for Holt. Cannibal Corpse guitarist Pat O'Brien also filled in for Holt during this time.

On February 4, 2012 a Paul Baloff Memorial Reunion Concert was held at the Oakland Metro Opera House. Former and current Exodus members in attendance included Kirk Hammett, Rick Hunolt, Gary Holt, Geoff Andrews, Lee Altus, Rob Dukes, Tom Hunting and Jack Gibson. It was the first time they had all played together since 1983. The band was confirmed for the Graspop Festival and for the Hellfest in June 2012. By the summer of 2012, Exodus had begun writing new material for their tenth studio album. On March 27, it was announced that the band entered the studio and were well into recording drum tracks, and the album was expected for a fall 2014 release.

Reunion with Steve Souza, Blood In, Blood Out and next album (2014–present)

On June 8, 2014, Exodus announced that vocalist Rob Dukes had left the band, and was replaced by Steve "Zetro" Souza, making this the second time he had rejoined the band. Souza recorded vocals on the new album; the band's first to feature him since 2004's Tempo of the Damned. On June 26, 2014, Exodus announced on their official website that the album would be called Blood In, Blood Out, and it was released on October 14. Blood In, Blood Out received positive reviews from music critics upon its release, and peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard 200, making it the band's highest chart position so far.

Exodus performed at the Australian Soundwave Festival 2015, which was held across two weekends. In April and May 2015, Exodus (along with Shattered Sun) supported Testament on their Dark Roots of Thrash II tour. Exodus then toured around Europe in June, including two nights at the Underworld in London.

In a July 2015 interview with Metal Wani, Souza revealed that, due to Exodus' upcoming tour schedule, which will last until the fall of 2016, and Holt's commitments with Slayer, the band is not expected to begin work on their next album until at least 2017. Despite Holt's commitments with Slayer, Souza stated that it would be "blasphemous and a sacrilege" to record an album without Holt. Souza added that "Gary is the main songwriter and has always been in Exodus. And so we'll have to, obviously, look at his schedule, but just having, actually, conversations with him since we've been home [off the road] and conversations with Tom, I mean, we know we need to keep new music going." He also said that the band's new album will likely be released in late 2017. In an interview on the "Battle of the Bays" tour in 2016 at a show in Manchester, however, Souza claimed the new album should be released in June 2017.

Musical style, legacy and influences

Along with the "Big Four" (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax), Overkill, Testament and other acts, Exodus have been credited as pioneers of the thrash metal genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. They have also been credited as the first Bay Area thrash metal band to exist.

Loudwire.com placed Exodus at number five on its list of the 10 Best Thrash Bands of All Time, calling them "The original kings of the Bay Area thrash scene", and saying that "While their uncompromising sound and uneven output in the coming decades kept world domination and platinum success ever at bay, you'd be hard passed to finger any other band, short of Slayer, perhaps, that's flown the thrash flag as proudly and unwaveringly as Exodus."

Exodus has mentioned AC/DC, Angel Witch, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin, Mercyful Fate, Motörhead, Nazareth, Ted Nugent, Rainbow, Sweet Savage, Thin Lizzy, Tygers of Pan Tang, UFO, Van Halen and Venom as their main influences.

It has been debated whether or not Exodus belongs in the "Big Five" of thrash metal with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, due to their involvement with the early 1980s thrash metal scene. VH1 stated, "Much is made of Thrash's Big Four: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. True devotees know, however, that Big Five is the actual proper figure and that Exodus is the band that completes the quintet." Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian also stated that, "People talk about the 'Big Four' all the time, but back then it was really the 'Big Five' because Exodus were just as important and just as influential as everybody else." Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine said in a 1990 interview that the "Big Four" were Exodus, Slayer, Metallica and Megadeth, adding that "Exodus are a much better band – I really like Exodus. Gary Holt and Rick Hunolt are really great guitar players. I like Scott Ian, but anyone else in that band kind of bores me. Having a disco thing is not what I think having a metal band is all about, and that guy had the audacity to say that he and I should together! I felt like saying what are you planning to do? Open a disco fashion shop?" Along with Ian and Mustaine, Holt has agreed that Exodus should be included in the "Big Five" of thrash metal because they "were there at the start of thrash metal with Metallica in the real early '80s. Same thing with Megadeth because Mustaine was a part of Metallica's birth and he also created Megadeth."

Discography