Exodus, Lost Society, Cryptic Shift (doors 6.30pm)

Ticket: £16.00 Buy Now
Doors: 7.30pm
Age: 14

Thrash metal originals EXODUS have battled every kind of adversity over the past 30 years and used it all as fuel to stoke an ever-raging fire. Short-lived trends, site line-up shifts, capsule label conflicts, even the death of founding vocalist Paul Baloff couldn’t stop the beast.

And through it all, guitarist and songwriter Gary Holt persevered. Rolling with the punches, reassembling the broken pieces and working with eccentric personalities to create some of the most trenchant, fast-paced, and unrelenting music that has influenced everyone from Pantera to Lamb of God and continues to crush skulls at a time decades after most ‘80s thrash bands have retired.

Holt has lost none of the teenage rage and hunger and long since mastered his craft. The eleven pulse-pounding tunes on new album Blood in Blood Out are among EXODUS’ best, signaling a rebirth as much as an evolution. Although Holt has spent the last few years playing second guitar for Slayer on tour, he has never forgotten where he came from and his priority and dedication to EXODUS. The evidence is written all over the album, which is rife with speed, fury and memorable riffs.

“It was always my grand vision to do a two-part Rush/King Crimson epic of thrash metal, and we did it,” Holt says proudly, “I kind of got that out of my system, so this time I wanted everything to sound more natural, shorter, and to the point. Get in and get out. So this one is a little more to the roots. Maybe some of that old Bonded By Blood influence came out and it’s heavy as fuck, but that’s the way we like it.”

Whether charging like an endorphin-fueled army or chugging at half-speed (a technique EXODUS perfected 20 years before the birth of the metalcore “breakdown”), Blood In Blood Out is a showcase of steely determination, unparalleled skill, and unrefined rage.

“Back in the early days, I was like: ‘Stand in the way and you’ll get steamrolled over by EXODUS!’” vocalist Souza says, “It’s that way again. Don’t stand in the way of this. You will get run over! I guarantee it.”