So. How many times do you release the same album? For Exodus the magic number is four. So far, at least…
Bonded by Blood was the debut-album of this legendary and trendsetting gang of thrash metal grandfathers. Nine vile songs, hitting you like a mallet in the face. The world screamed and scattered in front of this unstoppable 100 ton train of solid iron gone wild. Then the album was re-released in 1989 with new vocals, two muffled bonus live songs and another label in the back. Ten years on, 1999, and the next reissue came – only in Europe. And now we get the same album, re-recorded, reproduced so to speak, without muffled live tracks, but with a brand new name: “Let There Be Blood”. The cover is changed to fir into the crudely photoshop’ed realm of postmodern aesthetics, and the price has gone up, I’m sure.
As always, the music is raw and rocky, the metal parts blending perfectly with the rock part. But that’s hardly a surprise. The production has undergone miracles, but what about the originality of art? Of course Exodus’ line-up has changed a lot since 1985, and perhaps these changes are traceable on the rerecording. But wouldn’t it be better for the new members to deliver something fresh and bloody? These nine songs are about to dry up and break in the wind, which they really do not deserve. All in all, the music still kick, but the entire concept of re-releasing an album for the fourth time makes me yawn… And fear that Exodus has lost its magic – luckily we’ll get to test that, when they release “The Atrocity Exhibition… Exhibit B” next year.
This album is for the fanatic collectors.
