Pleasures of the Flesh

Background

Pleasures of the Flesh was to originally feature cover art with an illustration of the band depicted as cannibals preparing and eating their meal. However, prior to release, the cover was replaced with a photo of the group members leaning on a bar. Just before the record's issuance, the original album cover was promoted by the record company in music magazines with the headline "Metal's Heaviest Meal". It was also available as a limited edition picture disc LP.

The writing and recording sessions for Pleasures of the Flesh took two years to complete. The album's release was delayed numerous times when Exodus continued touring in support of Bonded by Blood, and singer Paul Baloff had left the band just prior to the recording sessions, which began in 1987. There are several demos of songs from the album with Baloff circulating on the internet. Although he did not perform on the album, Baloff was credited on the tracks "Seeds of Hate", "Pleasures of the Flesh" and "Brain Dead".

Following the release of Pleasures of the Flesh, Exodus toured for less than a year to promote it. They embarked on a month-long U.S. tour with Celtic Frost and Anthrax. The band toured the U.S. again in January and February 1988, this time with M.O.D. as a supporting act, which was followed three months later by a European tour with Lääz Rockit.

Reception

Pleasures of the Flesh received a negative review from Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia, who awarded the album two stars out of five, and called it a "very disappointing release." He added that the album "left little hope for the future, but incredibly, Exodus would rebound with excellent results on 1989's Fabulous Disaster."

Pleasures of the Flesh would also enter the Billboard 200. The album itself peaked at #82.

Band Line-Up

Charts

Album – Billboard (North America)

Credits