It has taken them more than four years and another vocalist change, but a new Exodus album is usually a difficult birth. However, Goliath is everything we have hoped for and even so much more. First, you all should already know the fearsome Rob Dukes is back in the fold after a decade-long absence, and his second baptism in fire and blood is no less than amazing, but we will come back to that later.
Opener 3111 is a ferocious up-tempo riff-annihilation, Exodus-style and the perfect introduction to the album, with a striking lyrical description of the Mexican cartel wars. The production by Mark Lewis is crisp, yet balanced and opens-up every little detail and nuance in all instrumental performances. Hostis Humani Generis is another thrash bomb, a little more diverse and with some unexpected twists and turns, while the first real surprise comes with The Changing Me, which is the most melo-death-sounding track in Exodus’ entire discography. This stylistic nod towards the Scandinavian scene is even more obvious with the guest vocal spot from no other than Peter Tägtgren.
Promise You This is very old-school and even a bit punkish-sounding, with a fantastic performance by Dukes, using melodic phrasing and even a “Southern-flavored” touch to a great effect. The title track employs a Sabbathian dirge to convey utter depression and a gloomy, hellish atmosphere, the guest spot by violinist Katie Jacoby being a surprisingly good idea, complimenting the songs really well. Then, until the album’s end, surprises are over, and we are back to the total speed-thrash obliteration.
Beyond The Event Horizon is easily my favorite track of the bunch with a main riff that can easily sit in either Bonded By Blood or Pleasures Of The Flesh – a bliss for old-schoolers like me. 2 Minutes Hate and Violence Works are typical of the Dukes-era bruisers but done so much better and convincing. Once again – Rob has added so much more diversity and various tones and voices to his arsenal this time and sings every different song in a way that suits the song best. Summon Of The God Unknown is a typical 8-minute long Holt epic, with a ton of riffs and solos, which, however, do not suffocate the song and it develops and “breathes”, never sounding stale or uninteresting.
The Dirtiest Of The Dozen is the perfect closer, another old-school speed thrasher with wonderful guitar solo duels between Hold and Altus, made to break necks and invoke brutal moshpits. Without diminishing all the great performances, another absolute star of the new Exodus album is drummer Tom Hunting, who has battled a horrible disease and is now victorious with probably his career-best performance. What a machine!
Exodus are back, my friends, so warm-up your neck muscles for Goliath.
9/10
Goliath is out on March 20th and can be ordered from HERE
Check out our interview with Gary Holt HERE
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