Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
December 20th 2013, Slim’s, San Francisco CA: After a period of inactivity due to reasons well-documented, San Francisco Bay Area thrash legends Exodus are finally ready to get back on the proverbial horse. They’ll soon be working on the follow-up to the 2010 release ‘Atrocity Exhibit B: The Human Condition’, and following completion of this next album they plan to resume touring activities. They signaled the start of this next phase with a hometown headline show at Slim’s last night, their first headline gig in San Francisco after a long three-year period. Naturally, the gig was built up as a very eagerly awaited event for all local thrash fans, and was completely sold out in advance. Exodus had put on some tremendous live performances in the not-so-distant past back when they were touring in support of albums like ‘Exhibit A’, ‘Let There Be Blood’ and ‘Exhibit B’ both as headliners and opening act, and last night it was time for the band to remind attendees of the sheer power their live show typically possesses.
Los Angeles-based hardcore group Nails was supposed to be the main support act for this show, but on the morning of the show they had to drop out because of their frontman Todd Jones facing a dental problem. This LA band has had an unfortunate streak of late, as their big show opening for Godflesh at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood got postponed due to Godflesh’s visa issues, and now another big one slipped from their grip. But as a result of Nails’ cancellation, we were left with an all-local affair featuring two San Francisco bands.
To overcome the shortening of the lineup, the show started 30 minutes later than scheduled and both of the remaining bands played longer sets. Local old-school speed/thrash metal band HellFireopened the gig with an excellent 40-minute set and provided the ideal warm-up for Exodus. They played tunes that showcased a clear Iron Maiden influence and had strong power metal elements but boasted of the local thrash flavor as well. Their vocalist laid down some epic high-pitched screams that struck the right chord with the old-school metalheads in this crowd, while the guitarists combined well to present some nicely crafted harmonies and solos. The band as a whole showed great stage presence and brought the right amount of energy to get the crowd involved through circle pits, wherein even a dude on wheelchair was seen being sped around in circles by his friend/helper. The singer himself dived from the stage and joined the mosh pit towards the end. Through this high-octane set of theirs, HellFire served the perfect appetizer for the main course that was to follow.
Visit HellFire on the web:
HellFirerocks.com
facebook.com/HellFireRocks
twitter.com/HellFireRocks
HellFire photo gallery (8 images):
At 10 PM, this place was about ready to become a hot, sweaty mess, as the members of Exodus quietly stepped onto the stage, and in signature style, began with their most iconic tune, ‘Bonded By Blood’. When it comes to metal bands, based on my experience I can honestly say that there really isn’t a better opening tune for a live performance than the Bonded By Blood title track. The manner in which it gets an audience’s adrenaline pumping is second to none, and this being a hometown show, last night it had an even greater impact than the previous times I’ve seen Exodus in the LA area. For this crowd, it was time to rejoice in thrash heaven. Exodus was in town, and judging from the start, they looked primed to deliver their best.
Having not played a headline show around these parts in such a long time, the set list was hard to predict and the band could have really done anything they wanted with it. In all fairness, I thought the 16-song set was well-chosen and satisfied longtime fans with plenty of tunes from the Bonded By Blood, Pleasures Of The Flesh and Fabulous Disaster albums, while also presenting some of the more recent material, with a healthy dosage of songs from the Zetro era as well. To fittingly encapsulate the band’s history, former longtime guitarist Rick Hunolt joined them to perform ‘The Toxic Waltz’ and ‘Strike Of The Beast’. Death Angel drummer Will Carroll also jumped up to sing chorus vocals for Toxic Waltz, and the audience was being treated to a thrash feast. Hunolt seemed to be having the time of his life up there on stage and urged the crowd to raise their insanity levels further. Current guitarist Lee Altus was still on stage with Gary Holt and Rick Hunolt, and musically, this three-pronged guitar onslaught pummeled the ears and minds of everyone in attendance. The fans were going bonkers, and an uninhibited stream of mosh pits, crowd surfers and stage divers was seen in action.
Vocalist Rob Dukes was his usual self, giving it more than his 100 per cent on vocals and putting on an excellent performance, while also cracking politically incorrect jokes between songs. Besides, he briefly talked about his transition from being an Exodus fan at the age of 16 to becoming the frontman of the same band many years later, which was a pleasant touch and was well-received by the crowd. Guitarist Gary Holt was clearly enjoying playing a full Exodus show again and laid down a delightfully crunchy guitar tone that delivered all of his riffs and solos with the monstrosity they deserve. His partner in crime Lee Altus had his typically efficient, effortless disposition, and so did bassist Jack Gibson and drummer Tom Hunting. Together the band sounded so killer that it was unbelievable to think they hadn’t played in a while, because while the lack of touring certainly made them look fresher and more physically and mentally involved into giving it their everything for this one-off performance, their level of musicianship was so tight and solid that it almost seemed like they had come off doing 200 shows this year.
This was Exodus at their finest, and based on last night it’s clear to me that there is nothing quite like experiencing them in their hometown. But with that said, this Exodus set needs to be played for audiences all across America and the rest of the world, and hopefully they’ll get back to becoming an active touring band again soon enough.
Related: Interview With Gary Holt
Visit Exodus on the web:
ExodusAttack.com
facebook.com/ExodusAttack
twitter.com/_Exodus
Exodus photo gallery (6 images):
Set List:
1. Bonded By Blood
2. Scar Spangled Banner
3. And Then There Were None
4. Children Of A Worthless God
5. Piranha
6. Beyond The Pale
7. Pleasures Of The Flesh
8. Fabulous Disaster
9. Deathamphetamine
10.Blacklist
11.A Lesson In Violence
12.War Is My Shepherd
13.The Toxic Waltz (w/ Rick Hunolt, Will Carroll)
14.Strike Of The Beast (w/ Rick Hunolt)
Encore:
15.Shovel Headed Kill Machine
16.Good Riddance