Blood Bath
Blood In, Blood Out from US thrash metal old boys Exodus features the return of on again/off again Steve 'Zetro' Souza, a guest solo from former alumnus Kirk Hammett, additional vocals from Testament's growl monger Chuck Billy and engineering work from Andy Sneap. All the ingredients for another latter day triumph? Aye, sort of.
It starts with a completely superfluous trip-hop intro courtesy of Dan the Automator before the fast twitch muscles of guitarists Gary Holt (latterly of Slayer's touring setup) and Lee Altus' right hands spark off the riffs and opener Black 13 is a decent rip through Exodus' classic repertoire: fast riffs and showboating guitar solos. Souza joins in the revelry of being in Exodus with the lyrics of title track, " Always had the power, now is zero hour, Tonight we're gonna fight like it's 1985."
The band largely stick to a quick pace over the hour long set. The scenery passing quickly enough for the eye to struggle to focus on details. When it's lean and focused there are definite winners here like the menacing, clenched fist groove of Body Harvest that has Holt and Altus bouncing off each other left, right and centre. Wrapped In The Arms Of Rage benefits from its relative brevity and simplicity, Collateral Damage is a satisfyingly bruising affair and Numb romps through its 6:13 running time. But that said, Blood In, Blood Out sometimes throws up contorted song structures that simply serve to chuck in another riff or song overshadowing solo but that's forgotten when they hit warp like on blistering closer Food for the Worms.
Remember when Metallica members weren't allowed to record outside the band? Another kick in the teeth for nineties Jason Newsted you might think but here in 2014 Kirk Hammett takes the lead on Salt The Wound joining his old band and without the scrutiny surrounding Metallica it reveals how tasty a player he can still be with a grandiose trademark solo over a fairly standard riff. BTK has another guest, this time its Chuck Billy indulging in a roaring singalong with Steve on the song's grim coda. The guest appearances are a nice touch but some of the best contributions come from the rhythm team - the relentless elasticity of Jack Gibson's bass and the rapid solidity of Tom Hunting's drumming not to mention Souza's coronary inducing anger (see the fundamentalist baiting of Honor Killings) alongside the expected top-of-the-class guitar from Holt and Altus.
Yes, Exodus do a lot of looking back over a bloated track-listing but there's something to be said for having pride in your achievements and there's enough energy and challenging playing on Blood In, Blood Out to give Exodus purpose on the road for more years to come.