This placement actually worked in their favor: with 40 minutes to kick ass, Exodus had no time to screw around or be indulgent, so they wisely decided to fuck shit up: they only played fast thrashers. Not that their discography contains a lot of ballads, mind you... the duet with Céline Dion is decidedly not in the cards. But by concentrating on the aggression and speed, they showcased what is arguably their greatest strength.
They played two tracks from their new album Goliath, one from Shovel Headed Kill Machine, Dukes' first album with the band, a few from the Souza period, and then a cache of classics from the seminal LP Bonded By Blood, a surprisingly comprehensive overview of their career given the short allotted set time.
It's astounding how such a veteran band can sound so thoroughly pissed off and this is in no small part due to Dukes' vocal style. Gary Holt of course is the thrash metal riff master, the genre's answer to Keith Richards: each one of his guitar motifs is a song in itself and when he takes a solo, it's like he's mangling his instrument, extracting tortured screams, anguished wails and cries for help. In the best portable way, of course. The entire machine is fueled by Tom Hunting's propulsive drumming, relentless but not devoid of subtleties.
A brutal, kick-ass show by a rejuvenated band and a real treat to see one of the originators of thrash metal in its latest incarnation.
