EXODUS – Persona Non Grata review

 

EXODUS – Persona Non Grata

Nuclear Blast

Just for the record I have to say this album came in with a lot of hype. Then again it should since this is the first album by the band since 2014's Blood In Blood Out. Now honestly I didn't think much about that one even though it was the return of Steve Souza on vocals. Personally I was not a fan of the Rob Dukes era of the band. And honestly with the exception of Bonded by Blood, the only albums by EXODUS that were worth a damm had Souza in the line-up.

So for starters Souza is still singing for the band and he sounds good on here. In fact this is probably the band's best record in a while. I'm going back to 2004's Tempo of the Damned as far as a decent release by the band. But on here EXODUS are damm good but hey it's because the production has that modern explosive clean sound. All legacy bands are using that modern production which is like a B-12 shot. 

Overall is not a perfect album. For the most part it has some damm good thrashers which remind ya of older EXODUS. Then again it has some mid tempo cuts which are modern day average. The guitar work by Gary Holt and Lee Altus, whether it's the pounding rhythms or face peeling solos, is a major highlight. All in all it's not a disappointment. Unlike some other legacy bands EXODUS didn't stoop to gimmicks in order to gain attention.  

https://www.nuclearblast.com/eu/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjAMLkTZQtg&t=2592s