The prolific output of Thrash legends Exodus since their come back release “Tempo Of The Damned” has been nigh on an album a year. Taking into consideration that in that time the band has undergone monumental personnel changes and embarked on two world tours, their creative output becomes even more staggering; however as we all know quantity doesn’t always equal quality, and with such and exhaustive schedule would “The Atrocity Exhibition” prove a release too far?

For those who know Exodus and for those who don’t…..what?!?! and where have you been the past two decades, will know what to expect from the Bay Area quintet by now? Never advocates of the ballad or acoustic approach to Thrash, favouring the more traditional break neck speed or nothing approach and time has done nothing to diminish the bands outlook. “The Atrocity Exhibition” is proof positive that with age doesn’t automatically equal the inevitable slide into middle of the road mediocrity, and there is still plenty of life in this old dog.

There is no doubt that coincidence played no part in the collective fires begin re-ignited under Exodus’s arse when current vocalist Rob Dukes and the stalwart for so many years Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza hoped on and off the Exodus personnel merry-go-round prior to the release of “Shovel Headed Kill Machine”. The vitality and over the top aggression Dukes brought added a new dimension to band not seen since the “Bonded By Blood” and “Pleasures Of The Flesh” days. Punishing brutality is order of the day with total and utter devastation being Exodus’s mission statement for this release. The trademark Gary Holt riff-a-thon is everything we have come to expect from one of the genres elder statesmen and the addition of Lee Atlus as unquestionably rose the collective game; honing their sound to a razor sharp point.

“Children Of A Worthless God“ and “As It Was, As It Soon Shall Be“ provide some of the albums highlights but in truth it is difficult to pick stand out tracks as the album has been written with the collective experience in mind rather than around a few catchy riffs al a “Force Of Habit”. “The Atrocity Exhibition” is unlikely to find a new audience nor is it breaking boundaries, but did we every expect Exodus to step away from their tried and tested sound, and is experimentation at this stage of a career nothing more than experimentation for the sake of it? The name Exodus alone is as synonymous with Thrash Metal as the Bay Area itself, their attitude unchanged in over twenty years and while members may have come and gone the mantra remains the same…….Thrash like it is 1989 all over again.