What The Hell Happened To... 03.30.09: Exodus - Tempo Of The Damned

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 03.30.2009

This week on What The Hell Happened To..., Dan Marsicano is taking a look at the underrated comeback album from Exodus, Tempo Of The Damned.

The Introduction

Welcome to the column that's looking at albums the majority of people don't care about, What The Hell Happened To…I'm your host, the man hasn't seen the sun in days, Dan Marsicano.

First, a brief announcement. It's been my understanding that 411 is getting a lot of new readers, so for all you first-timers, hello! Hope it didn't hurt too bad; the first time can always be a little rough. Don't forget to bookmark our site, or even add it as your homepage, as we update content multiple times a day.

It's time for my weekly brag-a-thon, where I list off all the web sites I write for. I recently got a gig with the Heavy Metal section of About.com and am also currently still writing at Metal Underground (under the alias heavytothebone2) and SMN News. Don't worry; I haven't forgotten about the loyal readers at 411. The column will still be around, but there will be fewer reviews than normal. Look for a review of Papa Roach going up sometime this week, once I pick the album up.

For the first time in months, I decided to get off my ass and review an album for 411 Mania. I took a gander at Papa Roach's new one, Metamorphosis, an album that could have been so much more than the sum of its parts. If you got a minute (and since you're reading this, I know you do), take a look at the Metamorphosis review.

For the twenty people who read my column last week, I said that the Yes album Relayer was next on my list. Well, since I'm not a fan of sticking with schedules, I've pushed that album back a few weeks. Being on a metal binge this week, I decided to take a look at Exodus and their 2004 album Tempo Of The Damned, their first studio album in over a decade, and in my personal opinion, one of the better slabs of modern metal out there.





The Band

Steve Souza - Vocals
Gary Holt - Guitar
Rick Hunolt - Guitar
Jack Gibson - Bass
Tom Hunting – Drums


The Track Listing

1. Scar Spangled Banner-6:41
2. War Is My Shepherd-4:27
3. Blacklist-6:17
4. Shroud Of Urine-4:51
5. Forward March-7:39
6. Culling The Herd-6:07
7. Sealed With A Fist-3:36
8. Throwing Down-5:01
9. Impaler-5:25
10. Tempo Of The Damned-4:21


The History

Exodus was formed in 1980 by guitarists Kirk Hammett, Gary Holt, and drummer/vocalist Tom Hunting. Hammett would famously leave Exodus for Metallica in 1983, being replaced by Rick Hunolt. With the addition of Rob McKillop on bass and Paul Baloff on vocals, the line-up went into the studio to release the influential 1985 album Bonded By Blood.



"Strike Of The Beast" Live 1985


Baloff left a year later, and Steve Souza became the new vocalist. Exodus released several albums of varying success, but could never follow up on their ground-breaking debut. In 1992, Exodus went on hiatus, staying dormant with little to no news. A few years later, Exodus re-united with original vocalist Baloff, with the 1997 live album Another Lesson In Violence the end result.

Exodus dissolved again, re-uniting yet again in 2001. Baloff would pass away from a stroke in 2002, and the fate of the band was in question. Exodus continued on, bringing back Souza into the fray and working on the band's first new material in 12 years…


The Analysis

To many Exodus fans, the 2002 death of original vocalist Paul Baloff spelled the end of the influential Bay-Area thrash band. Baloff was only in the band for one album, but that one album had such a rippling effect on thrash metal that Baloff became an icon to an underground movement that was sweeping the music landscape during the mid-1980's. While never being a part of the select "Big 4" of metal, Exodus was always known as the un-official 5th member, due in part to Bonded By Blood. That album was the definition of thrash metal; it was just a shame that it was released in 1985 and not two years earlier, or this introduction paragraph would have been quite different.

Exodus leader Gary Holt, who has been with the band since the very beginning, decided to follow in the path that Metallica chose after bassist Cliff Burton's death and continued forward after Baloff's death. With Souza back in the fold, Exodus took an aggressive approach to their sixth studio album, Tempo Of The Damned. The band's hatred is directed towards Christianity, domestic violence, and humanity, especially with the first topic. "Shroud Of Urine" is quite a different change of pace for the band; while they had criticized religion before, especially on their debut album, Tempo Of The Damned seem more spiteful and filled with bile than any of Exodus' previous albums.

"The insanity
Of Christianity
Is just a fucking masquerade
You're cuci-fucked
And you're out of luck
If you put your faith in the flock"

Supposedly, the anti-Christianity message was enough to send drummer Tom Hunting packing for a few years. It may or may not be true, but I don't think the band lost a significant amount of fans because of it.

With the angrier lyrical approach came an aggressive sound to match it. While Exodus's last album, 1992's Force Of Habit, experimented with slower melodies and longer tracks, Tempo Of The Damned brought back the thrash metal, with a modern approach. The slight groove element that was apparent in the early 90's material is still around, but the band makes sure not to go into Pantera or Lamb of God territory.



"War Is My Shepherd" Live 2004 (Credit: zidane6501)


"Scar-Spangled Banner" is a warning shot to those who may have questioned if Exodus had anything left in them to kick ass. The solos are wild, with heavy use of the whammy bar, and the group chants in the chorus hearkens back to the good old days of metal. Souza's vocal approach is one of sheer anger, screaming and barking every vocal line as if he was a five-star general leading his troops as they storm the beaches of Normandy.

Single "War Is My Shepherd" is a powerful tune, driven by the harsh vocals of Souza and the strong guitar work of duo Holt and Hunolt. These two worked together for almost two decades, so their chemistry is tight. No offense to Lee Altus, but I felt like that was an aspect that disappeared from the band once Hunolt departed in 2005. If there was a list of songs that defined Exodus, "War Is My Shepherd" would be on that short list.

Tempo Of The Damned has its share of epic-sounding material, mostly positioned in the middle of the album. These tracks are more mid-paced, and have a slight hint of melody behind them. At almost eight minutes long, "Forward March" is the longest number on here, but keeps the interest of the listener the whole time. The subtle clean electric guitar in the chorus and outro is a nice touch. "Culling The Herd" has my favorite vocal performance from Souza, who has a swagger behind his voice that leaves a memorable impression. He attempts a cleaner style of singing on the chorus, an experiment that turns out better than expected.

Exodus does stumble on one track, "Throwing Down," which features a rap/rant vocal approach and some modern metal touches that end up sounding forced and cliché. The solo is great, as is the case with every track on here, but the actual song has nothing for the listener to latch onto. Thankfully, the last two tracks bring the momentum back from the inner depths of the black hole the album created with the above song.

Ah, "Impaler;" the infamous song that was written when Kirk Hammett was still in Exodus. For those who may be unaware, "Impaler" was suppose to be on Bonded By Blood until Hammett used the main riff from the song on "Trapped Under Ice" from 1984's Ride The Lightning. Exodus held back on the song, performing it on the live album Another Lesson In Violence, but never giving it an official studio release until Tempo Of The Damned.



"Impaler" Live Feat. Paul Baloff On Vocals


"Impaler" is a throwback to the early 80's, which makes sense considering when it was written. The song starts out with a groove metal-inspired sound before opening up the floodgates with "the riff." That's the only way to describe the sheer awesomeness of it. It is the type of riff that is made to cause neck injuries and destruction of property. The solos fly free, Souza screams the title of the track at the top of his lungs, and all is right with the metal world.

The title track ends the album on a high note, a slow-burning introduction giving way to an explosive ending to the album. Tempo Of The Damned is able to keep a strong flow together for the 50-plus minutes without resorting to any cheap tactics, like ballads or sludgy riffing. I wouldn't exactly call this album pure thrash metal, as it does have elements of modern metal ala Machine Head and Pantera, but there are enough moments that relive the days of Bonded By Blood.

Exodus has always been that band that could have made it big. It was bad luck, messy line-up changes, and poor timing that caused Exodus to be regaled to underground status. Tempo Of The Damned was a great comeback album, but yet again, Souza left and Rob Dukes came in as the new vocalist. Exodus is still kicking ass to this day, but none of their present albums have been able to stand up to the wallop that Tempo Of The Damned provided.


The Conclusion

Sorry, everybody, no Who The Hell Is… this week. My workload has been crazy and it's a miracle I got this bad boy done by deadline. Next week, I'm going new school with a look at everybody's favorite metal band Trivium and their debut album Ember To Inferno. Let the hate mail commence next time on What The Hell Happened To…