Exodus

Thrash metal strikes most ears like a fountain of freshly chopped limb-stumps, but Exodus’ work in the genre proves how much intangible band chemistry separates the real menaces from the simple meatheads. Exodus’ 1985 debut, Bonded By Blood, remains a high bar of metal execution: Its squealing guitar solos feel incredibly fluid, and its riffs play just the right amount of tricks on listeners’ rhythmic sense. Unlike other thrash veterans who have found popular success by dampening their formula, Exodus has found a certain, typically metal honor in not switching things up very much. Guitarist Gary Holt and drummer Tom Hunting still remain from the early days, and their insatiable thirst for gore continues through 2010’s Nuclear Blast release Exhibit B: The Human Condition.

Updated 08/12/2010