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Track Listing: The Ballad Of Leonard And Charles Beyond The Pale Hammer And Life Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer) Downfall March Of The Sycophants Nanking Burn, Hollywood, Burn Democide The Sun Is My Destroyer Perpetual State Of Indifference Good Riddance

When it comes to old school thrash metal, I always have a hard time coming up with a band that has a more aggressive and harder-hitting sound than Exodus. Having said that, Exodus are much more than just raw old school thrash, led by the technical brilliance of Gary Holt's amazing guitar work, supported by Lee Altus' crunching riffs, Jack Gibson's thunderous bass, Tom Hunting's signature drumming style and rounded off perfectly by the sheer energy of Rob Dukes. I've seen this band destroy venues big and small over the past couple of years. This is their first album of original material in three years, and I couldn't be more excited to go deep into every track, to see how it turned out.

The first sixty seconds are literally like the calm before the storm that follows. The first track 'Ballad of Leonard And Charles' comes off as a song more typical of some of their recent material and sounds like they let things take a natural course and progression from the previous album, not forcing or over-producing it. Clocking more than 7 minutes, you would think it's too long for a thrash song, but not when you have Gary trading guitar solos with Lee at the speed of light for a good chunk of it. These will infuriate you, in a good way, air-guitar good. Trust me. We move on to the next track 'Beyond The Pale'. The bass is very easily identifiable and audible. This has been one of the most striking features of Exodus records over the years. I could easily name albums by other thrash legends where the bass is completely lost in the mix, making those albums sound dry. I'm glad Exodus have continued with it in this album as well. Other than that, track number 2 is every bit as good as the rest of the monumental 73-minute effort.

While the first two tracks inject a lot of positive aggression and energy into the listener, track 3 'Hammer And Life' is more of the kind you can relax and enjoy, singing along with the chorus while doing so. It isn't the usual in-your-face Exodus song, but then every song doesn't need to sound like the other. If that were the case, it would be as boring as a bad deathcore record, or any trance album. Thankfully not, as the album continues into 'Class Dismissed: A Hate Primer', a song based on the Virginia Tech massacre that happened three years back. That whole incident enrages me to this day, as I'm sure it does the same to you. It gives me another reason to sing the words along during this one. I really like Rob Dukes' vocals so far, specially on this one. For people who don't rate him highly as a vocalist, this song should change your opinion, the most intense song on the entire album and Rob's best performance in an Exodus song till date. 'Downfall', the next track, isn't quite as aggressive but keeps up nonetheless with some ripping guitar melodies and solos. In fact, you'll realise that you can't have enough in one listen, and would make you hit the 'repeat' button.

'March Of The Sycophants' is fascinating, not just for its title and lyrics but also the music itself. Tom Hunting's drumming is the standout here. If I ask him to pick one song to call 'his song' on this record, I am more than certain he will pick this one. Add to that the guitar riffs, this has the potential to be the best live song. In contrast, I don't see the next track 'Nanking' being a regular part of their set list as they'll tour to promote this album. But it's a good change from the songs up to this point, having some intricate music consisting of heavy, darker sounding riffs. The 'thrashiest' song on the record, 'Burn, Hollywood Burn' follows. This is a jab at the shallow celebrity life that plagues Hollywood, and Gary Holt never held back when he commented on this song being a dig at people like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, who are famous for doing nothing at all. I simply can't wait for the prospect of Exodus playing this song in Hollywood, and all of us shouting 'Buuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrnn!!' I've gone through a roller coaster ride so far as the listener, and it continues to take twists and turns with the following track 'Democide'. It won't get you to rock out, but you'll enjoy it nonetheless, if not for the technically brilliant guitar then at least for the literally thunderous bass.

'The Sun Is My Destroyer' justifies why Gary Holt calls Exodus the 'Pink Floyd of thrash metal'. This 9 and a half-minute song is Floyd-esque for sure, only a thousand times more brutal. It should be a challenge of sorts, for the band to pull this off live and I for one would be looking forward to see if they're able to achieve that. Holt and co. have pushed themselves to their creative boundaries with this one, setting a new height, a new standard for themselves as well as other thrash bands to try surmounting with future releases. 'A Perpetual State Of Difference' acts as a mystical interlude between the previous track and the closing song 'Good Riddance', with which they seem to have pulled out all stops in ending this stellar album in true Exodus style. This wouldn't have been a bad choice as the album opener either, as its quite reminiscent of 'Bonded By Blood' the song, in terms of the impact it creates on the listener. It's relentlessly awesome.

Exodus fans should find no reasons to complain or be disappointed with this effort. 73 minutes are a whole lot for a thrash album but this will leave you gasping for more. In terms of the song writing and musicianship, this is Gary Holt's finest accomplishment till date and most definitely the best album Rob Dukes has done with the band. One of the most solid, intricate, yet massively aggressive and perfectly produced thrash records to have come out in a long time. It's not just a 'must-have'. For thrash metal fans, it would be criminal not to have this in their collection.