Written by deadone on 27.02.2014 at 04:54

Always thought this was their crowning achievement. Shame the stuff afterwards failed to top it.

It is a shame they never topped this, but then again few thrash albums can for me. This is definitely Exodus' best, and one of my favorite thrash releases, well.... ever

I'd say Tempo Of The Damned stomps Bonded By Blood quite easily. I can't stand anything about this album, and can't for the life of me figure out why people overrate the fuck out of it.

Doesnt take two to figure out why this is so well rated, its one of the first forms of pure agression in Metal and an undeniable pillar at its respective time. Its a perfect soundtrack to the 80's whole Thrash scene.

Written by deadone on 29.04.2014 at 01:55



It's the only Exodus album that really caught my attention. Baloff was a great vocalist - so raw and tortured.

This is easily their best by far. All killer no filler. Unlike everything after. Although Tempo does come close quality wise.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.12.2012 at 10:52

27 years down the line and this album is still the best thrash album ever. To be honest I am pretty sure that this little ditty will remain the best thrash album ever till the end of times.

Not counting Fear of God's debut then, I assume?

I'm impressed by the amount of praise this album gets and I have only given it one listen so far... of which I can't remember a whole lot. Ordering a big batch of CD's now and came across this one on my wishlist for 6.99 euros, so I'm definitely buying this.

Written by Erik M. on 30.08.2014 at 23:00

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.12.2012 at 10:52

27 years down the line and this album is still the best thrash album ever. To be honest I am pretty sure that this little ditty will remain the best thrash album ever till the end of times.

Not counting Fear of God's debut then, I assume?

I'm impressed by the amount of praise this album gets and I have only given it one listen so far... of which I can't remember a whole lot. Ordering a big batch of CD's now and came across this one on my wishlist for 6.99 euros, so I'm definitely buying this.

He gave Ride The Lightning a 10 also. Which I would say is a much better thrash album than Bonded By Blood. To be honest, I think it's good but even Exodus did better than Bonded By Blood (I think Fabulous Disaster is better) and within the genre, for me there is a massive amount of better albums.

Written by Mattybu on 30.08.2014 at 23:21

He gave Ride The Lightning a 10 also. Which I would say is a much better thrash album than Bonded By Blood. To be honest, I think it's good but even Exodus did better than Bonded By Blood (I think Fabulous Disaster is better) and within the genre, for me there is a massive amount of better albums.

My thrash knowledge is pretty limited so I'm buying "the best of the best" only. Thanks for the info. And yeah, Marcel somehow doesn't consider Ride the Lightning a "real" thrash record... which I don't agree with at all.

Written by Erik M. on 30.08.2014 at 23:23

Written by Mattybu on 30.08.2014 at 23:21

He gave Ride The Lightning a 10 also. Which I would say is a much better thrash album than Bonded By Blood. To be honest, I think it's good but even Exodus did better than Bonded By Blood (I think Fabulous Disaster is better) and within the genre, for me there is a massive amount of better albums.

My thrash knowledge is pretty limited so I'm buying "the best of the best" only. Thanks for the info as well.

I don't think you could possibly be disappointed with this one if you like thrash, so enjoy your new albums To me the whole album would have to be as good as the title track and Piranha to be considered among the best ever (and even then not even close to being the single best). But in addition to that it never clicked with me in the way a lot of other albums did.

And then there were none...just beyond amazing. Absolutely intense album.

Written by musicalkaratekid on 14.09.2011 at 03:16

This album is great,but i think its a little overrated. Im not doubting its one of the most influential thrash albums of all time,but lets not forget 'hell awaits' and 'kill 'em all',eh?

I would spin ''Bonded By Blood'' any time before ''Hell Awaits'' and ''Kill 'Em All''. No doubt.
And I don't think it's overrated at all, it deserves the praise it receives. But once again, that's just me.

Written by Guib on 16.04.2015 at 22:44

Written by musicalkaratekid on 14.09.2011 at 03:16

This album is great,but i think its a little overrated. Im not doubting its one of the most influential thrash albums of all time,but lets not forget 'hell awaits' and 'kill 'em all',eh?

I would spin ''Bonded By Blood'' any time before ''Hell Awaits'' and ''Kill 'Em All''. No doubt.
And I don't think it's overrated at all, it deserves the praise it receives. But once again, that's just me.

Amen

Classic thrash right here! It doesn't get much better than this

Amazing record. Feels as fresh and aggressive today as it probably did back when it was first released

Great album. Had a lot of fun listening to this one.

Yes Exodus you can kick me in the teeth, rape and murder my wife. Thee vocals are too clean, if they were rougher and meaner then this would belong to the pantheon of unholy thrash.

Excellent debut, always great to get back to it, very few thrash debuts are as good as this.

Quality debut from the riff meisters. The whole album is pretty much one killer riff after another and the songwriting is close to best what can be expected from a thrash album. When the year of release is taken into account, the album sounds rather extreme for 85, much like Kill Em All was extreme for 83. The main reason I don't see the album as 10 is the fact that the vocals are kind of dogshit. Paul Baloff did rather unique vocals on the album, and as have been told, was an influential character to the bay area thrash. But I do think the vocals are only major weak point of the album.

"Bonded By Blood", "And Then There Were None" and "A Lesson In Violence" stand out as some of the best thrash songs ever heard

Good album but I've always struggled with the vocals (some songs more than others) and I do find it a bit one dimensional. I tend to pick my favourite individual tracks to play rather than the whole album. The Holt/Hunolt twin guitar attack is a massive highlight. If you looking for something which defines the classic thrash sound, this is an almost perfect example.

This was the first thrash album I ever got, still one of the best. There are faster, more intense and heavier bands around, but the lovable fun loving bad to the bone headbanger personality present here is something even the band themselves have never managed to replicate or surpass. The songs here aren't necessarily the best ever, but the overall record is so likable and kickass, I don't even care.

Written by gavdann on 12.08.2020 at 12:46

I do find it a bit one dimensional.

That it sure is. But, hey man, we are at Thrash Metal in the year 1985!

Written by Metal Rasputin on 12.08.2020 at 16:27

...but the lovable fun loving bad to the bone headbanger personality present here is something even the band themselves have never managed to replicate or surpass.
... the overall record is so likable and kickass, I don't even care.

that is well put, sir

Written by gavdann on 12.08.2020 at 12:46

one dimensional

Exodus may be AC/DC of thrash metal, nobody should expect super complex songs from them, no prog songwriting. It's not an issue to me; I'm simple man, when I hear good riffs, I rate high

Well, this isn't going to go over well with the MS crowd.

This album sounds pretty awful to my ears. I get it, I get it... it was a pioneer album that trailblazed the way to thrash as we know it today. I'm not denying its influence or its innovation for the time... but held up to modern standards, objectively this album just sounds silly. The vocals are cringe-levels of bad, the riffs are nice but not mindblowing, and hell, even the cover art is ugly as hell.

Influential, yes. But just because this considered is a classic, I'm not going to force myself into liking this or try to trick myself into thinking this sounds good to my ears. COMMENCE THE HATE!!!

(PS - I like a lot of their other work, so no, this is not a "hater" post)

Written by SoUnDs LiKe PoP on 10.01.2021 at 08:11

I'm not going to force myself into liking this or try to trick myself into thinking this sounds good to my ears.

And that is absolutely fine. Why in the world would you even consider to force yourself into liking an album that you dislike? I strongly recommend to never ever do that. Many people liking it and praising the shit out of it can often be a pretty misleading indicator when it comes to your own assessment of an album, even if it is a so called classic, I have made several such experiences.

Written by Redel on 10.01.2021 at 16:26

Written by SoUnDs LiKe PoP on 10.01.2021 at 08:11

I'm not going to force myself into liking this or try to trick myself into thinking this sounds good to my ears.

And that is absolutely fine. Why in the world would you even consider to force yourself into liking an album that you dislike? I strongly recommend to never ever do that. Many people liking it and praising the shit out of it can often be a pretty misleading indicator when it comes to your own assessment of an album, even if it is a so called classic, I have made several such experiences.

Well said. But I do think there are many people who pretend or try to fool themselves into thinking something is good just because they want to fit in and/or they think they must be missing something that everyone else is seeing. Lot of group-think and nostalgia-voting.

Written by SoUnDs LiKe PoP on 11.01.2021 at 08:51

I do think there are many people who pretend or try to fool themselves into thinking something is good just because they want to fit in and/or they think they must be missing something that everyone else is seeing. Lot of group-think and nostalgia-voting.

Good point. I think we all should seek to write what we want to write instead of writing what others would want to read from us.

You either worship Baloff's godlike vocals or you become a false.

I was hearing this with expectation but after 5 minutes it turns to total disapointment! How can anyone rate this With good or more is beyond my compreension, tastes!

Trying getting into here, so far I never could get intro. Classoc band and album, but her eyouth and love thrashing make hug part as good mix and studio work.
Exodus, Exodus and Piranha are classic songs what my and older generation learned but to me, somehow 80's I love toxic waltdz.

One of the best thrash metal album's of all time, it's a thrash classic that just doesn't get much better than this, there is no weak songs imo, so I can easily go through the album time and again, without needing to skip out any tracks.

you have those ferocious catchy riffs, that can even rival Reign In Blood when it comes to enjoy ability, there's excellent, classic guitar shredding here too, the vocals are a bit simple and clean, but never borhered me one bit. There is such a high level of energy here, with aggressive lyrics, to set you in the mood for whatever you want! Simple stuff but highly enjoyable!