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Rating:
8.7 |
Exodus - Exhibit B: The Human Condition
7 May 2010
01. The Ballad Of Leonard And Charles
02. Beyond The Pale
03. Hammer And Life
04. Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)
05. Downfall
06. March Of The Sycophants
07. Nanking
08. Burn, Hollywood, Burn
09. Democide
10. The Sun Is My Destroyer
11. A Perpetual State Of Indifference
12. Good Riddance
13. Devil's Teeth [bonus]
With the birth of The Big Four, we have all basked among the glory of albums like Master Of Puppets, Reign in Blood, Peace Sells and Among The Living, and also the tier two bands such as Testament, Death Angel, Overkill, Annihilator and yes, Exodus. The only difference though is that The Big Four started to slowly descend from their holy rankings. Have the tier two bands descended down yet? Not even close.
When I first got this album, it was because of the positive comments on this site. The skepticism I had for this band was another main reason for buying this album, and I was missing out! This is my first enlightenment about Lee Altus Gary Holt's ass kicking, frantic-like style of soloing and riffing such as "Good Riddance" and "Beyond The Pale": nothing like I've ever seen before. You've also got Tom Hunting, with beastly drumming only comparable to Paul Bostaph (who played with Exodus before on 2005's Shovel Headed Kill Machine), you also got Jack Gibson with notable moments in "Downfall" and "Nanking" and finally you have Rob Dukes. Probably the most hated person in Exodus to die-hard fans, actually has made me want to become a singer! The man has aggression written all over him, and with songs like "Burn Hollywood Burn" and "Class Dismissed," it's definitely proven that he is my favorite thrash metal vocalist (no disrespect to Baloff though).
The problem with this album though is that, despite the high praise I give it, all of the songs follow a similar structure: intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, instrumental section (which is done for quite a while), solos, verse, chorus then finally outro. A bit irritating for me, because I like a bit of diversity. I've heard better sound quality too, but it doesn't mean the sound is terrible, it means that there are better albums with better quality (Tales From The Grave In Space is a good example).
So, thanks to this Bay Area band, I've learned to explore other bands and to not quickly judge albums by the first 30 seconds of a song, because Exodus delivers like none other. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get Let There Be Blood.
Notable Songs: Burn Hollywood Burn, Beyond The Pale, Good Riddance, March Of The Sycophants
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Performance:
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9 |
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Songwriting:
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9 |
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Originality:
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9 |
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Production:
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9 |
written by Project Endgame | 27.11.2010 |
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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Staff review byBitterCOld
Rating:
7.7
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So Exodus is back, again, with Exhibit B: The Human Condition after a relatively short (for them) layoff. The Bay Area Bashers have returned doing what they do best, wreaking havoc and crushing skulls.
The H&H Guitar tandem (this time, Holt and Heathen's Lee Altus) have concocted some monstrously crushing riffs and shredding leads. Jack Gibson provides some great support on bass, Tom Hunting treats his kit like I treat my monkey (he often misbehaves and I must spank him frequently) and the band's third front man, Rob Dukes froths and spits at the mic with fantastic venom, bile, and power... cementing his place as an equal to the monstrous combat boots of his predecessors.
Read more ›› |
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| published 10.07.2010 | Comments (26)
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 vezzy - 27.11.2010 at 18:49
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I have nothing to say about this review, so I shall instead comment on the first paragraph.
Testament, Death Angel and Annihilator have definitely descended from their glory days. |
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Written by vezzy on 27.11.2010 at 18:49
I have nothing to say about this review, so I shall instead comment on the first paragraph.
Testament, Death Angel and Annihilator have definitely descended from their glory days.
...meh, more or less. |
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K†ulu - 27.11.2010 at 19:30
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| With your description of songwriting and the sound I would expect lower ratings of corresponding aspects... By the way, do you think the album is a bit too long? |
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Written by K†ulu on 27.11.2010 at 19:30
With your description of songwriting and the sound I would expect lower ratings of corresponding aspects... By the way, do you think the album is a bit too long?
Sound I don't have a problem with (because all the albums I own so far, have great sound quality). I don't understand the songwriting rating, so it's a partial screw up on my end.
The album is somewhat long, but I don't have a problem it as well because I know Exodus for 5-6 minute songs like this (Deathamphetamine, Forward March, Bedlam 1-2-3 for instance). |
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Written by vezzy on 27.11.2010 at 18:49
I have nothing to say about this review, so I shall instead comment on the first paragraph.
Testament, Death Angel and Annihilator have definitely descended from their glory days.
Death Angel and Annihilator sure have, but in my opinion, the Formation of Damnation is a top Testament release with the Guardian and Low |
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| The album may be a long time runner. But at least Exodus still maintains the musical talent to keep the songs interesting, and enjoyable. |
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Written by JCJen7 on 28.11.2010 at 01:46
Written by vezzy on 27.11.2010 at 18:49
I have nothing to say about this review, so I shall instead comment on the first paragraph.
Testament, Death Angel and Annihilator have definitely descended from their glory days.
Death Angel and Annihilator sure have, but in my opinion, the Formation of Damnation is a top Testament release with the Guardian and Low
Fuck yeah, that album was sick. Can't wait for the new one. |
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| I felt BitterCOld's review was more accurate for my tastes (not just because of the rating either). You point out the problem of repetition in song structure from beginning to end, but give this 8.7 out of 10. Doesn't add up in my opinion. |
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Written by Troy Killjoy on 22.02.2011 at 03:56
I felt BitterCOld's review was more accurate for my tastes (not just because of the rating either). You point out the problem of repetition in song structure from beginning to end, but give this 8.7 out of 10. Doesn't add up in my opinion.
/Flex. |
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Written by vezzy on 27.11.2010 at 18:49
I have nothing to say about this review, so I shall instead comment on the first paragraph.
Testament, Death Angel and Annihilator have definitely descended from their glory days.
I dont know about testament, but i certainly agree with death angel and annihilator going on a downward spiral,musically. |
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Written by musicalkaratekid on 21.07.2011 at 11:38
I dont know about testament, but i certainly agree with death angel and annihilator going on a downward spiral,musically.
Testament has been on the downward spiral since "New Order"... |
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Written by Daniell on 21.07.2011 at 11:50
Written by musicalkaratekid on 21.07.2011 at 11:38
I dont know about testament, but i certainly agree with death angel and annihilator going on a downward spiral,musically.
Testament has been on the downward spiral since "New Order"...
Although 'the new order is my favourite album by testament, i have to say their latest (The formation of damnation)was still pretty good! |
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Written by Daniell on 21.07.2011 at 11:50
Written by musicalkaratekid on 21.07.2011 at 11:38
I dont know about testament, but i certainly agree with death angel and annihilator going on a downward spiral,musically.
Testament has been on the downward spiral since "New Order"...
That I can agree with. Their first two albums were just golden, for me they never got that quality back. |
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| I do agree that the album is a great one in essence, but I don't think it deserves an 8.7. I'd give it an 8; good, but has its problems. Still, gotta hand it to Exodus for making such long albums and thrashing like mad all throughout pretty much... |
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