A great many thrash bands have come and gone since Exodus first started making a noise and helped shape the fabled Bay Area sound, and back with their 11th studio album they retain their lust for devastation. Guitarist Gary Holt has, of course, been preoccupied with Slayer for the past few years, but now, returning to his ‘day job’, if anything he’s been fired up by his time away, and his songwriting is as strong as it has ever been. Kicking things off with the seven-and-a-half-minute title track, they make it clear that they still have it in them to be be supremely heavy. Seething, serrated riffs are matched by the bilious vocals of Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza, and they make every second count, and the same could be said for pretty much all of the album. Gary’s time in Slayer clearly ...