Exodus (American band)

“Exodus (band)" redirects here. For the progressive rockband, see Exodus (Polish band).

Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in1979 in Richmond, California.[1] Spanning a career of36 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineupchanges, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of twoformer band members. Their current lineup consists ofvocalist Steve Souza, guitarists Gary Holt and Lee Altus,bassist Jack Gibson and drummer TomHunting. Huntingis one of the original members, and departed from Exo-dus twice, in 1989 and 2004, but rejoined in 2007. Holtjoined the band shortly after its formation, and is the onlymember of Exodus to appear on all their releases.Since its formation, Exodus has released ten studio al-bums, two live albums and two compilations. Alongwith Testament, Death Angel, Vio-Lence, Forbidden,Lääz Rockit and Metallica, whose longtime lead gui-tarist Kirk Hammett was an original member of Exo-dus, they are often credited as pioneers of the Bay Areathrash metal scene,[2][3] and have sold over 5 million al-bums worldwide as of 2013.[4] Exodus had particular suc-cess in the mid-to-late 1980s with their first three stu-dio albums―Bonded by Blood, Pleasures of the Flesh andFabulous Disaster. The critical praise given to FabulousDisaster garnered attention from major labels, includingCapitol Records, with whom Exodus would eventuallysign in 1989. Exodus released two more studio albums(Impact Is Imminent and Force of Habit) before disband-ing in 1993. After a temporary reunion in 1997-1998,Exodus reformed once again in 2001, and since then, theyhave released five more studio albums, the most recentbeing 2014’s Blood In, Blood Out.

1 History

1.1 Formation and early years (1979–1983)

In 1979, guitarists Kirk Hammett and Tim Agnello,drummer/vocalist TomHunting, and bassist CarltonMel-son formed the initial lineup of Exodus. Hammett hadnamed the band after Leon Uris' 1958 novel of the sametitle.[1] Bassist Melson would soon be replaced by Ge-off Andrews and the band also added vocalist KeithStewart.[5][6] Agnello would soon leave the group (andmusic) to pursue a life of ministry in Stockton, California

Guitarist Gary Holt has been a member of Exodus since 1981,and is the only member to have performed on all of the band’salbums.

The jagged edged “Exodus” logo. This logo has been used onthe cover of all of the band’s releases, except for Force of Habit(1992).

and was replaced by Hammett’s guitar technician GaryHolt.In 1981, Hammett met El Cerrito resident Paul Baloffat a North Berkeley house party, a friendship that wasstarted - according to Hammett - by their shared admi-ration for punk rock and 1970s heavy metal music. In1982, Baloff took Stewart’s place as vocalist and the quin-tet recorded a demo tape the same year, a release whichwould be Hammett’s only recording with the band. Ge-off Andrews would leave after the tape was completed tostart an early incarnation of pioneering death metal band

1

2 1 HISTORY

Possessed. Andrews was replaced by bassist Rob McKil-lop. In early 1983, Hammett left Exodus to joinMetallicaand was eventually replaced in the long term by guitaristRick Hunolt.

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

Vocalist Steve “Zetro” Souza, who replaced Paul Baloff, was amember of Exodus from 1986 to 1993, and again from 2002 to2004. He rejoined the band in 2014.

The band recorded their first album Bonded by Blood inthe summer of 1984. Audio engineering college studentMark Whitaker, who had attended high school with PaulBaloff, oversaw management and record production forthe band at the time. 1984 concert photos from Exo-dus 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 albumsleeve inserts. Originally titled “A Lesson in Violence”,the album was not released until April 1985 amidst cre-ative and business setbacks. Whilst Bonded By Blood isconsidered a highly influential thrash metal album today,critics have regarded the delay in its release as having jeo-pradized the impact the album could have had. As All-music reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia would later write inhis review for the album: “Had it been released immedi-ately after it was recorded in 1984, Exodus’ Bonded byBlood might be regarded today alongside Metallica's Kill'Em All as one of the landmark albums responsible forlaunching the thrash metal wave”.[7] Shortly after touringfor Bonded by Blood, Paul Baloff was fired from the bandand replaced by Steve “Zetro” Souza, who had previously

been the lead vocalist for Legacy, an early incarnation ofTestament. Baloff went on to form the band Piranha.Exodus’ line-up remained fairly stable for the recordingof their next few albums, and the underground successattained with Bonded by Blood would lead to the group’ssigning to Sony/Combat Records, who distributed theband’s second effort Pleasures of the Flesh in 1987. Plea-sures of the Flesh was engineered by young Sylvia Massywho would go on to produce two releases by progressiverock band Tool. Fabulous Disaster, the group’s third fulllength album, was released in 1989. A music video forthe song "The Toxic Waltz" would receive consistent ro-tation on MTV's Headbangers Ball.[8] While promotingFabulous Disaster, Exodus embarked on the HeadbangersBall tour with Anthrax and Helloween, which brought theband to a new audience.After the success of Fabulous Disaster, Exodus wassigned to Capitol Records in early 1990, who released theband’s fourth album Impact is Imminent later that year.Prior to recording the album, Tom Hunting was replacedby John Tempesta on drums. In 1991, the band releasedtheir first live album, Good Friendly Violent Fun, whichwas recorded during their 1989 tour.

1.3 Force of Habit, hiatus, and temporaryreturn (1991–2000)

Jack Gibson joined Exodus in 1997 as bassist and has been withthe group ever since.

After the release of Good Friendly Violent Fun, the bandtoured sporadically for a year. Bassist McKillop was re-

1.5 Lineup change and next three albums (2005–2013) 3

placed by Michael Butler before the group recorded andreleased their next studio album titled Force of Habit in1992. This album was something of a departure from theband’s signature sound, containing several slower, “heav-ier” songs with less emphasis on the speed/thrash aspectof their older material. The 11-minute song “Architectof Pain” is a good example of the change of direction,having a much slower, grindier feel than the usual hightempo thrash they had become known for.After touring for Force of Habit was completed, behindthe scenes issues as well as a changing musical environ-ment prompted the band to split up. However, after onlya few years of dormancy, Holt and Hunolt reunited withsinger Paul Baloff and drummer Tom Hunting along withnew bassist Jack Gibson. They released a live album in1997 titled Another Lesson in Violence. However, thegroup disbanded again the following year, in part due to afalling out with record label Century Media over the waypromotion for the live album was handled, and over anaborted attempt at a live concert video which was filmedbut never released due to a financial dispute.

1.4 Second reformation, death of PaulBaloff and Tempo of the Damned(2001–2004)

In 2001, Exodus reformed once again, initially to play theChuck Billy benefit Thrash of the Titans concert. Therewas talk of recording a new studio album and the bandcontinued to play shows in and around the San FranciscoBay Area.However, in February 2002 Paul Baloff died after suffer-ing a stroke. Former vocalist Steve Souza was broughtback into the band to finish the rest of their concertcommitments. Although it appeared to outsiders thatwith Baloff’s death Exodus would cease to exist, gui-tarist Gary Holt was determined to release a new stu-dio album. The result was 2004’s Tempo of the Damnedreleased on Nuclear Blast Records. An oddity of therecording sessions was that one track, “Crime of the Cen-tury”, was dropped under mysterious circumstances. Thesong chronicled Exodus’s time under Century Media (ofwhichNuclear Blast is a subsidiary). Although it was pub-licly denied, rumors swirled that Century Media forcedthe song off the record. “Crime of the Century” was re-placed with “Impaler”, a song which was written whenKirk Hammett was still in the band, and featured on theAnother Lesson in Violence live record.

1.5 Lineup change and next three albums(2005–2013)

Steve Souza left the band due to long-standing businessand personal differences in 2004.[9] Gary Holt subse-quently issued a statement in which he was heavily critical

Vocalist Rob Dukes was one of three newmembers to join Exodusin 2005. He was part of the band until 2014.

of Souza, claiming he had suddenly left the band on touronly a day before they were due to leave for a show inMexico City.[10] He was replaced initially by Steev Es-quivel (ex-Defiance and Skinlab). The band eventuallyfound a more permanent replacement in Rob Dukes.In 2005, Rick Hunolt left the band to focus on hisfamily.[11] He was replaced by Heathen guitarist Lee Al-tus. Tom Hunting also took leave of the band follow-ing a re-occurrence of the nervous problems that led tohis temporary departure in 1989. Hunting was replacedwith Paul Bostaph who had previously played with Slayerand Testament. The revamped lineup released the albumShovel Headed Kill Machine in 2005. The tour for the al-bum 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 intime to record and release their 8th studio album TheAtrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A. They performed at theWacken Open Air Festival in the summer of 2008. InApril 2009, Exodus embarked on a co-headlining NorthAmerican tour with Kreator and also featuring Belphegor,Warbringer, and Epicurean. Exodus then went on toursupporting Arch Enemy along with Arsis and MutinyWithin.Exodus released a re-recording of their 1985 debut albumBonded by Blood entitled Let There Be Blood. Gary Holtreleased the following statement about the band’s deci-sion to revisit their debut album: “After many years inthe planning and discussion stage, we have finally com-pleted the re-recording of 'Bonded By Blood'. We havedecided to call it 'Let There Be Blood' and it is our way

4 3 DISCOGRAPHY

of paying homage to [late singer] Paul Baloff by show-ing how relevant these songs we had written together stillare. We aren't trying to replace the original; that’s impos-sible anyway. We are just giving these songs the benefitof modern production. It’s something we talked aboutbefore Paul’s death and it’s always been important to usto do. We were super excited about entering the studioonce again to record these classics, and now it’s back towriting the next studio record!"The album Exhibit B: The Human Conditionwas recordedin northern California with British producer Andy Sneap(Megadeth, Arch Enemy, Kreator) and released on Nu-clear Blast Records in May 2010.[12] It was announced inJanuary 2010 that Exodus was to be on Megadeth's Rustin Peace 20th Anniversary tour along with Testament.Exodus was featured on the cover of Decibel magazine’sJune 2010 issue, with a feature article on them.

Exodus at 2012 Hellfest. This was one of the band’s first showswith former guitarist Rick Hunolt (far right) in seven years.

Exodus co-headlined with Kreator, Suicidal Angels andDeath Angel on the Thrashfest 2010 tour in late 2010and were one of the headlining bands at Wacken OpenAir 2011.Exodus toured with Rob Zombie and Slayer in 2011 ontheir Hell on Earth tour as the opening act. Gary Holtfilled in for Slayer guitarist JeffHanneman during the tourafter Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis caused bya spider bite.[13] Holt filled in for Hanneman again on theirnext tour in the summer of 2012. When Exodus touredin the summer of 2012, guitarist Rick Hunolt (who leftin 2005) filled in for Holt. Cannibal Corpse guitarist PatO'Brien also filled in for Holt during this time.[14]

On February 4, 2012 a Paul Baloff Memorial ReunionConcert was held at the Oakland Metro Opera House.Former and current members included Kirk Hammett,Rick Hunolt, Gary Holt, Geoff Andrews, Lee Altus, RobDukes, Tom Hunting and Jack Gibson. It was the firsttime they had all played together since 1983. The bandwas confirmed for the Graspop Festival[15] and for theHellfest in June 2012. By the summer of 2012, Exo-dus had begun writing new material for their tenth stu-

dio album.[16][17][18] On March 27, it was announced thatthe band entered the studio and were well into recordingdrum tracks, and the album was expected for a fall 2014release.

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

On June 8, 2014, Exodus announced that Rob Dukes hadleft the band,[19] and was replaced by Steve Souza, mak-ing this the second time he had rejoined the band.[20]Souza recorded vocals on the new album; the band’s firstto feature him since 2004’s Tempo of the Damned.[21][22]On June 26, 2014, Exodus announced on their officialwebsite that the album would be called Blood In, BloodOut,[23] and it was released on October 14.[24] Blood In,Blood Out received positive reviews from music criticsupon its release, and peaked at #38 on the Billboard 200,making it the band’s highest chart position so far.[25]

Exodus performed at the Australian Soundwave Festi-val 2015, which was held across two weekends.[26] InApril and May 2015, Exodus (along with Shattered Sun)supported Testament on their Dark Roots of Thrash IItour.[27] Exodus then toured around Europe in June, in-cluding two nights at the Underworld in London.In a July 2015 interview withMetalWani, Souza revealedthat, due to Exodus’ upcoming tour schedule, which willlast until the fall of 2016, and Holt’s commitments withSlayer, the band is not expected to begin work on theirnext album until least 2017.[28]

2 Band members

2.1 Timeline

3 Discography

Main article: Exodus discography

• Bonded by Blood (1985)

• Pleasures of the Flesh (1987)

• Fabulous Disaster (1989)

• Impact Is Imminent (1990)

• Force of Habit (1992)

• Tempo of the Damned (2004)

• Shovel Headed Kill Machine (2005)

• The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A (2007)

5

• Exhibit B: The Human Condition (2010)

• Blood In, Blood Out (2014)

4 References[1] Wall, Mick (May 10, 2011). Enter Night: A Biography of

Metallica (page 119). St. Martin’s Press. ISBN 0-312-64989-4.

[2] “Exodus To Release 'Blood In, Blood Out' Album In Oc-tober”. gibson.com. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 12 October2014.

[3] “Legendary metal band Exodus, formed in Richmond, setto release 10th studio album”. richmondstandard.com. 24September 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.

[4]

[5] “MUSICMIGHT::PERSON::CARLTON MELSON”.

[6] “MUSICMIGHT::PERSON::GEOFF ANDREWS”.

[7] Allmusic review

[8] “The History of American Thrash”. Revolver.com. Re-trieved September 19, 2015.

[9] “Singer ZETRO SOUZA Quits EXODUS (Again)".

[10] “EXODUS Guitarist: 'Fat-Ass’ ZETRO SOUZA Is 'Hu-man Crap'".

[11] http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/exodus-confirm-guitarist-rick-hunolt-s-departure/

[12] “EXODUS: New Album Pushed Back To May”.

[13] “SLAYER With EXODUS Guitarist GARY HOLT”.

[14] “Exodus to Be Joined By Former Guitarist Rick Hunolton Upcoming Tour Dates”.

[15] . Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Published May 9,2012

[16] “EXODUS Bassist On RANDY BLYTHE Concert Inci-dent: 'If You Come On Stage, You're Trespassing'".

[17] “EXODUS Taps HEATHEN Guitarist KRAGEN LUMFor Select European Shows”.

[18] “EXODUS Frontman Talks Next Album (Video)".

[19] “Exodus Parts Ways With Singer Rob Dukes”.

[20] “It’s Official: Singer Steve 'Zetro' Souza Is Back In Ex-dous”.

[21] “Steve 'Zetro' Souza To Begin Recording Vocals For NewExodus Album This Week”.

[22] “Steve 'Zetro' Souza: 'A Lot Went Into My Decision' ToRejoin Exodus”.

[23] “Exodus Announces Exclusive VIP Packs for UpcomingSlayer Tour w/ Special Guests Suicidal Tendencies andExodus”. exodusattack.com. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 29June 2014.

[24] “Exodus To Release 'Blood In, Blood Out' Album In Oc-tober”. Blabbermouth.net. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July2014.

[25] “Exodus’ 'Blood In Blood Out' Cracks U.S. Top 40”.Blabbermouth.net. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 22 Oc-tober 2014.

[26] wookubus (December 22, 2014). “Steel Panther, Exodus,Falling In Reverse, Etc. Added To 2015 'Soundwave Fes-tival'".

[27] “Testament And Exodus To Join Forces For 'Dark RootsOf Thrash II' Tour”. Blabbermouth.net. 17 February2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.

[28] “STEVE 'ZETRO' SOUZA Is 'Having A Blast' BeingBack In EXODUS”. Blabbermouth.net. 18 July 2015.Retrieved 18 July 2015.

5 External links• Official site

• Official MySpace page

• Exodus – Gary Holt interview @ Metalfan.ro – En-glish

6 6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1 Text• Exodus (American band) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_(American_band)?oldid=686226614 Contributors: IZAK, Aho-erstemeier, Lee M, Bearcat, Robbot, Postdlf, Mushroom, Everyking, Jason Quinn, Guillaumito, Gscshoyru, TonyW, Misfit13b, TJSwo-boda, Rich Farmbrough, ESkog, Spearhead, Mike Garcia, Sole Soul, Ashley Pomeroy, Jackliddle, Midness, ReyBrujo, Derbeth, JapaneseSearobin, PET, BD2412, Kbdank71, Koavf, FlaBot, Gringo300, YurikBot, RussBot, Anzuhan, Danteferno, Jubella, Welsh, Dr31, Tony1,Dissolve, DeadEyeArrow, GrinBot~enwiki, Protozoic Waste, SmackBot, IainP, Mr Pyles, Imponderabilium~enwiki, BabuBhatt, Shogun-Maximus, Cobain, Neo139, Jmlk17, Flib, Koeber, Invincible Ninja, Derek R Bullamore, Valfontis, Marnues, Dicklyon, Angryxpeh, Iri-descent, Ouisch, Anger22, Prophaniti, Jknobull, Mr. Metal Head, Drinibot, Skeletor2112, ShelfSkewed, PyroMusic.net, Cydebot, Ok-sure~enwiki, Fair Deal, Gogo Dodo, -Lemmy-, Annakaycanada, Megazodiac, Simon Springer, Thijs!bot, Alan 01987, Richiedude, Mr.Brain, JustAGal, DavidJJJ, PaulVIF, AntiVandalBot, Prolog, Jayron32, Lancetfluke, Sln3412, BeastmasterGeneral, Magioladitis, Bong-warrior, Theonethird, Kameejl, Grinder0-0, Jon Trist, CommonsDelinker, J.delanoy, Darth Mike, Spiritech, Aia94, XAvengedSevenfoldX,Juliancolton, Doomsdayer520, Lights, VolkovBot, Indubitably, G.T. Hemingway, Danorama, Rei-bot, Lvivske, Inx272, Gbawden, Burn-ingclean, SieBot, ShowNoMercy, Scarian, Weeliljimmy, Ktulu6, Corrupt toolbox, Crash Underride, Apprentice punk, Nite-Sirk, Bonded-ByBlood, Sue Wallace, Miskma, Sasha Krotov, Gunmetal Angel, Metaldigger, Martarius, ClueBot, Binksternet, Fadesga, Neo pessimist,Boing! said Zebedee, Exodus666, PMDrive1061, Jusdafax, Yellowxander, A Powerful Weakness, Wiki libs, Now2blue, Stepheng3, Mys-pace69, The Phantomnaut, XLinkBot, SlayerXT, Hawks10, TheSickBehemoth, The Civilized Worm, Sevrinnoakes, Cunard, Addbot,Malconfort, RandySavageFTW, Metallica`s biggest fan, Mac Dreamstate, Metalhead of the East, Vio2112, Doniago, Angry Shoplifter,Tassedethe, OlympicSharpshooter, Alanscottwalker, Tide rolls, James Whales, Yobot, Fraggle81, Dazfli, Gongshow, Arch stanton1138,Metalmovieguy, Innerself86, TheBlackening, Materialscientist, Freshfighter9, ScarTissueBloodBlister, Vovillia, Marauder09, Wether B,Scottthezombie, Aussie Ausborn, J04n, FireCrystal, SlayerBloodySlayer, GripTheHusk, Acalora, FrescoBot, BlackenedIn92, Haniball-Cartho, Brangdel, A vision of it, Schreimer, PigFlu Oink, Gdje je nestala duša svijeta, MrIpodz, Inyoasz, DefaultsortBot, Hamtechperson,OWWW666, Full-date unlinking bot, Riossez, Mathnor, MetalOne123, RaceRexeR, Brian the Editor, Herrn~enwiki, Minimac, Skeletal-Strong, TjBot, EmausBot, Dillthedevil, Shovelheaded, Metalgod6669, Metalbabe333, Pantera5FDP, Plotgains, Everard Proudfoot, Cim-merian praetor, Burbridge92, L1A1 FAL, ChuispastonBot, Mistersmiley69, ThrashGuy, Rubensource38, Will Beback Auto, ClueBot NG,Rock&RollSuicide, Jesse Striewski, David O. Johnson, Janerikh, Vibhijain, Helpful Pixie Bot, Mordum, Frze, DingiZiDong, Punkthrash-dude, Patriots49ers, Lc47, Thebuffguy, Pablo Illesca Herrera, Intensity254, The1337gamer, Jonas Rogowski, BattyBot, BladeJ, Chris-Gualtieri, MyAuthor, Marek3571, Macn8r, VanNatteris, Necroshine95, Retrohead, Josh Bryant, Llann Wé², Ash264, MEGADETH666,Stainedclasssinner, Thrasher93, Caughtinmosh88, Abomination85, Tentinator, Ï¿½, Fabio e Mari, MetalDiablo666, Rambotje, Adolf Hip-ster, AlddiHagg0815, Babakan, Lukejordan02, Toğrul Renegade, Mangut123, Phaedra90731, JippyJohn99, TheMightyKieran, KasparBotand Anonymous: 335

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