Exodus - Exhibit B: The Human Condition [2010] (Thrash Metal, Groove Metal)
Lable : Nuclear Blast
With Overkill and Heathen both releasing tremendous thrash albums early in the year, my focus turned to the new Exodus album. My expectations weren't high for this album. To be perfectly honest, they were about as low as they could possibly be considering they were coming off of the criminally boring "Exhibit A" and a pathetic re-recording of their debut album. After seeing the track listing filled with 6-8 minute long songs, I was expecting to see another boring and disappointing release. I can gladly say that this album well exceeded expectations.
The first thing that stands out about Exodus albums in recent years is Rob Dukes. Not only did I think his 'vocals' were terrible, but he also came off as an arrogant prick onstage. When I listened to Shovel Headed Kill Machine the first thing I thought was that his vocal approach just wasn't suited for this style of music. Indeed, his constant puking into the microphone single handedly destroyed any potential there was for "Let There Be Blood" being a half decent album. On this album he seems to use a different approach. While he does still turn to the puking at certain points, he uses a more clean and melodic style of singing in 'Nanking' as well as displaying an overall more tolerable style than seen on previous albums. He's still far from a great vocalist, but he did a decent job here.
As far as the riffs go, some aspects have changed while some have remained identical. They keep the downtuned guitars and intricate riffing seen in recent years. The violent and loud bass is also kept intact. Songs such as 'Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer' use fast and relentless riffs to give an aggressive feel, while songs like 'Nanking' use slower and more atmospheric riffs that go along with the lyrical themes. I was impressed that the riffs on this album are much more diverse and pleasing to the ear than the ones from Exhibit A. 'Downfall' shows off an amazing melodic intro and solo section along with a smooth feel. For the most part the songs are constructed in a way so that they're able to keep the listener's for 6-7 minutes, something that I can't say about Exhibit A.
Tom Hunting can rip the balls off a drum set. His aggressive style of drumming and fast double bass suit the songs well. Since rejoining the band, his intricate drumming has been a major standout for me. While his drumlines get repetitive at times, he does not fail to impress on this album.
There is a certain flaw I should point out about this album. It drags on for a whopping 78 minutes. While the song structures here are more interesting it does get repetitive after a while. There are several songs that could easily have been trimmed down. The first thing that stood out to me is that the album's opener, 'The Ballad Of Leonard and Charles', has an acoustic intro and then goes straight into the EXACT same riff that ended 'Bedlam 1-2-3' from their previous album. Little useless things like that are just absolutely pointless and make the songs less interesting. There are certain songs like 'Class Dismissed' that have slower paced middle sections that come off extremely boring and dull. You'll find yourself skipping over sections of songs after listening a few times.
Dukes DOES go overboard at times. On 'The Sun Is My Destroyer' he sings in a strange and laughable grunt style. He also tries too hard to sound aggressive on 'Class Dismissed'. 'Hammer and Life' also has very boring vocals. While Dukes has improved considerably since Let There Be Blood, he took a considerable toll of a few of these songs.
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