Exodus (American band)

Exodus
Exodus performing at the Summer Breeze Open Air festival in 2016
Background information
Origin	Richmond, California, United States
Genres	Thrash metal
Years active	1979–1994 1997–1998 2001–present
Labels	Capitol Century Media Combat Nuclear Blast
Associated acts	Heathen Hatriot Blind Illusion Metallica Possessed Testament Slayer Anthrax Megadeth White Zombie Generation Kill
Website	www.exodusattack.com
Members	Tom Hunting Gary Holt Steve "Zetro" Souza Jack Gibson Lee Altus
Past members	Former members

Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1979 in Richmond, California.^[1] Spanning a career of 37 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Their current lineup consists of vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza, guitarists Gary Holt and Lee Altus, bassist Jack Gibson and drummer Tom Hunting. Hunting is one of the original members, and departed from Exodus twice, in 1989 and 2004, but rejoined in 2007. Holt joined the band about two years after its formation, and is the only member of Exodus to appear on all their releases.

Since its formation, Exodus has released ten studio albums, two live albums and two compilations. Along with Possessed, Testament, Death Angel, Vio-Lence, Forbidden, Lääz Rockit and Metallica, whose longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett was an original member of Exodus, they are often credited as pioneers of the Bay Area thrash metal scene,^[2][3] and have sold over five million albums worldwide as of 2013.^[4] Exodus had particular success in the mid-to-late 1980s with their first three studio albums―Bonded by Blood, Pleasures of the Flesh and Fabulous Disaster. The critical praise given to Fabulous Disaster garnered attention from major labels, including Capitol Records, with whom Exodus had signed in 1989. Exodus released two more studio albums (Impact Is Imminent and Force of Habit) before disbanding in 1994. After temporarily reuniting in 1997-1998, Exodus reformed once again in 2001, and since then, they have released five more studio albums, the most recent being 2014's Blood In, Blood Out. The band is expected to release their next studio album in late 2017.^[5]

History

Formation and early years (1979–1983)

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

The jagged edged "Exodus" logo. This logo has been used on the cover of all of the band's releases, except for Force of Habit (1992).

In 1979, guitarists Kirk Hammett and Tim Agnello, drummer/vocalist Tom Hunting, and bassist Carlton Melson formed the initial lineup of Exodus. Hammett had named the band after Leon Uris' 1958 novel of the same title.^[1] Bassist Melson would soon be replaced by Geoff Andrews and the band also added vocalist Keith Stewart.^[6][7] Agnello would soon leave the group (and music) to pursue a life of ministry in Stockton, California and was replaced by Hammett's friend, and then Exodus roadie, Gary Holt.^[8]

In 1981, Hammett met El Cerrito resident Paul Baloff at a North Berkeley house party, a friendship that was started - according to Hammett - by their shared admiration for punk rock and 1970s heavy metal music. In 1982, Baloff took Stewart's place as vocalist and the quintet recorded a demo tape the same year, a release which would be Hammett's only recording with the band. Geoff Andrews would leave after the tape was completed to start an early incarnation of pioneering death metal band Possessed. Andrews was replaced by bassist Rob McKillop. In early 1983, Hammett left Exodus to join Metallica and was eventually replaced in the long term by guitarist Rick Hunolt.

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

Vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza, who replaced Paul Baloff, was a member of Exodus from 1986 to their first breakup in 1994, and again from 2002 to 2004. He rejoined the band once again in 2014.

The band recorded their first album Bonded by Blood in the summer of 1984. Audio engineering college student Mark Whitaker, who had attended high school with Paul Baloff, oversaw management and record production for the band at the time. 1984 concert photos from Exodus 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 album sleeve inserts. Originally titled A Lesson in Violence, the album was not released until April 1985 amidst creative and business setbacks. Whilst Bonded By Blood is considered a highly influential thrash metal album today, critics have regarded the delay in its release as having jeopardized the impact the album could have had. As Allmusic reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia would later write in his review for the album: "Had it been released immediately after it was recorded in 1984, Exodus' Bonded by Blood might be regarded today alongside Metallica's Kill 'Em All as one of the landmark albums responsible for launching the thrash metal wave".^[9] Shortly after touring for Bonded by Blood, Paul Baloff was fired from the band and replaced by Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had previously been the lead vocalist for Legacy, an early incarnation of Testament. Baloff went on to form the band Piranha.

Exodus' line-up remained fairly stable for the recording of their next few albums, and the underground success attained with Bonded by Blood would lead to the group's signing to Sony/Combat Records, who released the band's second effort Pleasures of the Flesh in 1987. Pleasures of the Flesh was engineered by then-unknown Sylvia Massy, who would go on to produce two releases by progressive rock band Tool. Fabulous Disaster, the group's third full-length album, was released in 1989. A music video for the song "The Toxic Waltz" would receive consistent rotation on MTV's Headbangers Ball.^[10] While promoting Fabulous Disaster, Exodus embarked on the Headbangers Ball tour with Anthrax and Helloween, which brought the band to a new audience.

After the success of Fabulous Disaster, Exodus was signed to Capitol Records in 1989, who released the band's fourth album Impact is Imminent in the following year. Prior to recording the album, Tom Hunting was replaced by John Tempesta on drums. In 1991, the band released their first live album, Good Friendly Violent Fun, which was recorded during their 1989 tour.

Force of Habit, hiatus, and temporary reunion (1991–2000)

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

After the release of Good Friendly Violent Fun, the band toured sporadically for a year. Bassist McKillop was replaced by Michael Butler before the group recorded and released their next studio album titled Force of Habit in 1992. This album was something of a departure from the band's signature sound, containing several slower, "heavier" songs with less emphasis on the speed/thrash aspect of their older material. The 11-minute song "Architect of Pain" is a good example of the change of direction, having a much slower, grindier feel than the usual high tempo thrash they had become known for.

After touring for Force of Habit was completed, behind-the-scenes issues as well as a changing musical environment prompted the band to split up. However, after only a few years of dormancy, Holt and Hunolt reunited with singer Paul Baloff and drummer Tom Hunting along with new bassist Jack Gibson. They released a live album in 1997 titled Another Lesson in Violence. However, the group disbanded again the following year, in part due to a falling out with record label Century Media over the way promotion for the live album was handled, and over an aborted attempt at a live concert video which was filmed but never released due to a financial dispute.

Second reformation, death of Paul Baloff and Tempo of the Damned (2001–2004)

In 2001, Exodus reformed once again, initially to play the Chuck Billy benefit Thrash of the Titans concert. There was talk of recording a new studio album and the band continued to play shows in and around the San Francisco Bay Area.

However, on February 2, 2002, Paul Baloff died after suffering a stroke. Former vocalist Steve Souza was brought back into the band to finish the rest of their concert commitments. Although it appeared to outsiders that with Baloff's death Exodus would cease to exist, guitarist Gary Holt was determined to release a new studio album. The result was 2004's Tempo of the Damned released on Nuclear Blast Records. An oddity of the recording sessions was that one track, "Crime of the Century", was dropped under mysterious circumstances. The song chronicled Exodus's time under Century Media (of which Nuclear Blast is a subsidiary). Although it was publicly denied, rumors swirled that Century Media forced the song off the record. "Crime of the Century" was replaced with "Impaler", a song which was written when Kirk Hammett was still in the band, and featured on the Another Lesson in Violence live record.

Lineup change and next three albums (2005–2013)

Vocalist Rob Dukes was one of three new members to join Exodus in 2005. He was part of the band until 2014.

Steve Souza left the band due to long-standing business and personal differences in 2004.^[11] Gary Holt subsequently issued a statement in which he was heavily critical of Souza, claiming he had suddenly left the band on tour only a day before they were due to leave for a show in Mexico City.^[12] He was replaced initially by Steev Esquivel (ex-Defiance and Skinlab). The band eventually found a more permanent replacement in Rob Dukes.

In 2005, Rick Hunolt left the band to focus on his family.^[13] He was replaced by Heathen guitarist Lee Altus. Tom Hunting also took leave of the band following a re-occurrence of the nervous problems that led to his temporary departure in 1989. Hunting was replaced with Paul Bostaph who had previously played with Slayer and Testament. The revamped line up released the album Shovel Headed Kill Machine in 2005. The tour for the album 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 in time to record and release their 8th studio album The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A. They performed at the Wacken Open Air Festival in the summer of 2008. In April 2009, Exodus embarked on a co-headlining North American tour with Kreator and also featuring Belphegor, Warbringer, and Epicurean. Exodus then went on tour supporting Arch Enemy along with Arsis and Mutiny Within.

Exodus have provided the voices of the customers at the Duncan Hills Coffee Shop and five of the sick people in Cartoon Network's Metalocalypse.

Exodus released a re-recording of their 1985 debut album Bonded by Blood entitled Let There Be Blood. Gary Holt released the following statement about the band's decision to revisit their debut album: "After many years in the planning and discussion stage, we have finally completed the re-recording of 'Bonded By Blood'. We have decided to call it 'Let There Be Blood' and it is our way of paying homage to [late singer] Paul Baloff by showing how relevant these songs we had written together still are. We aren't trying to replace the original; that's impossible anyway. We are just giving these songs the benefit of modern production. It's something we talked about before Paul's death and it's always been important to us to do. We were super excited about entering the studio once again to record these classics, and now it's back to writing the next studio record!"

The album Exhibit B: The Human Condition was recorded in northern California with British producer Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Arch Enemy, Kreator) and released on Nuclear Blast Records in May 2010.^[14] It was announced in January 2010 that Exodus was to be on Megadeth's Rust in Peace 20th Anniversary tour along with Testament. Exodus was featured on the cover of Decibel magazine's June 2010 issue, with a feature article on them.

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

Exodus co-headlined with Kreator, Suicidal Angels and Death Angel on the Thrashfest tour in late 2010 and were one of the headlining bands at Wacken Open Air 2011.

Exodus toured with Rob Zombie and Slayer in 2011 on their Hell on Earth tour as the opening act. Gary Holt filled in for Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman during the tour after Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis caused by a spider bite.^[15] Holt filled in for Hanneman again on their next tour in the summer of 2012. When Exodus toured in the summer of 2012, guitarist Rick Hunolt (who left in 2005) filled in for Holt. Cannibal Corpse guitarist Pat O'Brien also filled in for Holt during this time.^[16]

On February 4, 2012 a Paul Baloff Memorial Reunion Concert was held at the Oakland Metro Opera House. Former and current members included Kirk Hammett, Rick Hunolt, Gary Holt, Geoff Andrews, Lee Altus, Rob Dukes, Tom Hunting and Jack Gibson. It was the first time they had all played together since 1983. The band was confirmed for the Graspop Festival^[17] and for the Hellfest in June 2012. By the summer of 2012, Exodus had begun writing new material for their tenth studio album.^[18][19][20] On March 27, it was announced that the band entered the studio and were well into recording drum tracks, and the album was expected for a fall 2014 release.

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

On June 8, 2014, Exodus announced that vocalist Rob Dukes had left the band,^[21] and was replaced by Steve "Zetro" Souza, making this the second time he had rejoined the band.^[21] Souza recorded vocals on the new album; the band's first to feature him since 2004's Tempo of the Damned.^[22][23] On June 26, 2014, Exodus announced on their official website that the album would be called Blood In, Blood Out,^[24] and it was released on October 14.^[25] Blood In, Blood Out received positive reviews from music critics upon its release, and peaked at #38 on the Billboard 200, making it the band's highest chart position so far.^[26]

Exodus performed at the Australian Soundwave Festival 2015, which was held across two weekends.^[27] In April and May 2015, Exodus (along with Shattered Sun) supported Testament on their Dark Roots of Thrash II tour.^[28] Exodus then toured around Europe in June, including two nights at the Underworld in London.

In a July 2015 interview with Metal Wani, Souza revealed that, due to Exodus' upcoming tour schedule, which will last until the fall of 2016, and Holt's commitments with Slayer, the band is not expected to begin work on their next album until at least 2017.^[29] Despite Holt's commitments with Slayer, Souza stated that it would be "blasphemous and a sacrilege" to record an album without Holt.^[30] Souza added that "Gary is the main songwriter and has always been in Exodus. And so we'll have to, obviously, look at his schedule, but just having, actually, conversations with him since we've been home [off the road] and conversations with Tom, I mean, we know we need to keep new music going."^[5] He also said that the band's new album will likely be released in late 2017.^[5][31] In an interview on the "Battle of the Bays" tour in 2016 at a show in Manchester, however, Souza claimed the new album should be released in June 2017.

Band members

Current members Tom Hunting – drums (1979–1989, 1997–1998, 2001–2005, 2007–present), vocals (1979–1980) Gary Holt – guitar (1981–1994, 1997–1998, 2001–present) Steve "Zetro" Souza – vocals (1986–1993, 2002–2004, 2014–present) Jack Gibson – bass (1997–1998, 2001–present) Lee Altus – guitar (2005–present)

Former members Carlton Melson – bass (1979–1980) Tim Agnello – guitar (1979–1981) Keith Stewart – vocals (1980–1981) Jeff Andrews – bass (1980–1983) Kirk Hammett – guitar (1979–1983) Paul Baloff – vocals (1981–1986, 1997–1998, 2001–2002; died 2002) Mike Maung – guitar (1983) Evan McCaskey – guitar (1983; died 1989) Robert "Rob" McKillop – bass (1983–1991) Rick Hunolt – guitar (1983–1994, 1997–1998, 2001–2005) John Tempesta – drums (1989–1994) Michael Butler – bass (1991–1994) Paul Bostaph – drums (2005–2007) Rob Dukes – vocals (2005–2014)

Live members Kragen Lum – guitar (2013, 2015–present) Perry Strickland – drums (1989) Gannon Hall – drums (1993) Chris Kontos – drums (1993) Steev Esquivel – vocals (2004) Matt Harvey – vocals (2004) Nicholas Barker – drums (2009) Rick Hunolt – guitar (2012–2013)

Line-ups

1979-1980	1980	1980-1981	1981
Kirk Hammett – guitars Tim Agnello – guitars Carlton Melson – bass Tom Hunting – drums, lead vocals	Kirk Hammett – guitars Tim Agnello – guitars Carlton Melson – bass Tom Hunting – drums Keith Stewart – lead vocals	Kirk Hammett – guitars Tim Agnello – guitars Tom Hunting – drums Keith Stewart – lead vocals Geoff Andrews – bass	Kirk Hammett – guitars Tom Hunting – drums Keith Stewart – lead vocals Geoff Andrews – bass Gary Holt – guitars
1981-1983	1983	1983	1983-1986
Kirk Hammett – guitars Tom Hunting – drums Geoff Andrews – bass Gary Holt – guitars Paul Baloff – lead vocals	Tom Hunting – drums Gary Holt – guitars Paul Baloff – lead vocals Mike Maung – guitars Rob McKillop – bass	Tom Hunting – drums Gary Holt – guitars Paul Baloff – lead vocals Rob McKillop – bass Evan McCaskey – guitars	Tom Hunting – drums Gary Holt – guitars Paul Baloff – lead vocals Rob McKillop – bass Rick Hunolt – guitars
1986-1989	1989-1991	1991-1994	1994-1997
Tom Hunting – drums Gary Holt – guitars Rob McKillop – bass Rick Hunolt – guitars Steve "Zetro" Souza – lead vocals	Gary Holt – guitars Rob McKillop – bass Rick Hunolt – guitars Steve "Zetro" Souza – lead vocals John Tempesta – drums	Gary Holt – guitars Rick Hunolt – guitars Steve "Zetro" Souza – lead vocals John Tempesta – drums Michael Butler – bass	Disbanded
1997-1998	1998-2001	2001-2002	2002-2005
Paul Baloff – lead vocals Gary Holt – guitars Rick Hunolt – guitars Jack Gibson – bass Tom Hunting – drums	Disbanded	Paul Baloff – lead vocals Gary Holt – guitars Rick Hunolt – guitars Jack Gibson – bass Tom Hunting – drums	Gary Holt – guitars Rick Hunolt – guitars Jack Gibson – bass Tom Hunting – drums Steve "Zetro" Souza – lead vocals
2005-2007	2007-2014	2014-present
Gary Holt – guitars Jack Gibson – bass Rob Dukes – lead vocals Lee Altus – guitars Paul Bostaph – drums	Gary Holt – guitars Jack Gibson – bass Rob Dukes – lead vocals Lee Altus – guitars Tom Hunting – drums	Gary Holt – guitars Jack Gibson – bass Lee Altus – guitars Tom Hunting – drums Steve "Zetro" Souza – lead vocals

Timeline

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)
• Exhibit B: The Human Condition (2010)
• Blood In, Blood Out (2014)

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 October". gibson.com. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
3. "Legendary metal band Exodus, formed in Richmond, set to release 10th studio album". richmondstandard.com. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
4. "Exodus Announces Hometown Gig - The Gauntlet Heavy Metal News". Thegauntlet.com. 2013-10-03. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
5. "STEVE 'ZETRO' SOUZA Says Next EXODUS Album Could Arrive In Late 2017". Blabbermouth.net. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
6. "MUSICMIGHT::PERSON::CARLTON MELSON".
7. "MUSICMIGHT::PERSON::GEOFF ANDREWS".
8. "Exodus / Slayer's Gary Holt - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?". YouTube. LoudWire. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
9. Eduardo Rivadavia. "Bonded by Blood - Exodus | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
10. "The History of American Thrash". Revolver.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
11. "Singer Zetro Souza Quits Exodus (Again)". Blabbermouth.net. 2004-09-13. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
12. "Exodus Guitarist: 'Fat Ass' Zetro Souza Is 'Human Crap'". Blabbermouth.net. 2004-09-13. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
13. August 4, 2005 (2005-08-04). "Exodus Confirm Guitarist Rick Hunolt's Departure". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
14. "Exodus: New Album Pushed Back To May - Blabbermouth.net". Roadrunnerrecords.com. 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
15. "Slayer With Exodus Guitarist Gary Holt: First Video Footage From Soundwave Kick Off Show - Blabbermouth.net". Roadrunnerrecords.com. 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
16. "Exodus to Be Joined By Former Guitarist Rick Hunolt on Upcoming Tour Dates". Guitar World. 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
17. "EXODUS - 3-Guitar Attack Planned For Graspop Festival". Bravewords.com. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
18. "Exodus Bassist On Randy Blythe Concert Incident: 'If You Come On Stage, You're Trespassing'". Blabbermouth.net. 2012-06-29. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
19. "Exodus Taps Heathen Guitarist Kragen Lum For Select European Shows". Blabbermouth.net. 2013-07-31. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
20. "Exodus Frontman Talks Next Album (Video)". Blabbermouth.net. 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
21. "Exodus Parts Ways With Singer Rob Dukes, Welcomes Back Steve 'Zetro' Souza". Blabbermouth.net. 2014-06-08. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
22. "Steve 'Zetro' Souza To Begin Recording Vocals For New Exodus Album This Week". Blabbermouth.net. 2014-06-09. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
23. "Steve 'Zetro' Souza: 'A Lot Went Into My Decision' To Rejoin Exodus". Blabbermouth.net. 2014-06-10. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
24. "Exodus Announces Exclusive VIP Packs for Upcoming Slayer Tour w/ Special Guests Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus". Exodusattack.com. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
25. "Exodus To Release 'Blood In, Blood Out' Album In October". Blabbermouth.net. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
26. "Exodus' 'Blood In Blood Out' Cracks U.S. Top 40". Blabbermouth.net. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
27. "Steel Panther, Exodus, Falling In Reverse, Etc. Added To 2015 'Soundwave Festival'". December 22, 2014.
28. "Testament And Exodus To Join Forces For 'Dark Roots Of Thrash II' Tour". Blabbermouth.net. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
29. "STEVE 'ZETRO' SOUZA Is 'Having A Blast' Being Back In EXODUS". Blabbermouth.net. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
30. "STEVE 'ZETRO' SOUZA Is 'Having A Blast' Being Back In EXODUS". Blabbermouth.net. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
31. "STEVE 'ZETRO' SOUZA: It's Time For EXODUS To Start Putting Some New Music Together". Blabbermouth.net. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.

External links

• Official site
• Official MySpace page
• Exodus – Gary Holt interview @ Metalfan.ro – English