The grand-daddies of thrash metal are back on tour as a headliner, but did they do much different from the last few appearances?
Do you have “comfort” music? Like comfort food? You know, the food that just makes you feel happy when you eat it? I do. I have several bands that I lean on when the chips are down like Slayer, Sacrifice, Anthrax, Razor, Dayglo Abortions, Motorhead, and maybe 10 others. One of them is definitely Exodus and tonight we see them at the Sold-out Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver with Support from Candy, Dead Heat and Havok.
I am kinda excited to see this show this time around because I have their latest on heavy rotation, which is a live album called British Disaster: The Battle of ‘89’! This album is centered around their third studio album called Fabulous Disaster which was released around that time, and it totally slaps! I actually met a dude in the crowd that was at that very show in the UK and he said it was his first show at age 16, it was an incredible experience that probably changed his life. So all that being said with this great live Album, I was HOPING that they would be playing that complete show here tonight. Was I somewhat disappointed?
Exodus have had the same band lineup for at least 10+ years now, with Tom Hunting (drums), Jack Gibson (bass), Lee Altus (guitar), Gary Holt (guitar) and Steve “Zetro” Souza on vocals. Founder Gary Holt is back focused on Exodus fulltime again, as his side band, Slayer, is retired, but has been doing a few large festivals during the summer.
This is Exodus’s third appearance in Vancouver since 2022 and upon looking at the setlist, I have to admit I was a little disappointed not to see a setlist like Battle of 89. The opening song “Last Act of Defiance”, yup that is on Battle of 89 and so were 4 others like “Fabulous Disaster”, “And Then There Were None”, “Brain Dead”, “Toxic Waltz” and “Strike of the Beast”. All amazing and was happy to hear all of them. However, there were songs that they also played for the 3rd time since 2022 that we could’ve done without, like “Blood In, Blood Out”, “Prescribing Horror”, “The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves)”, and “Blacklist”. Don’t get me wrong, love all those songs, but after 3 shows in 2 years, could they have maybe re-learned “Parasite”, “Corruption”, “Chemi-Kill” and “Like Father, Like Son” which I don’t believe none of these have EVER been played in Vancouver.
Though there were a few surprises that were done however. We have never seen or heard here is “Body Harvest”, “The Last Act of Defiance” and FINALLY “Metal Command” which to me should be a show closer. Instead they close with the last 2 songs they have been closing for 20 years, with “Toxic Waltz” and “Strike of the Beast”. C’mon guys, its time for a total revamp of your setlist! You have LOTS of other great songs in the discography to choose from! Why are you holding back? You have been around for 40 Years, with 12 albums.
As much as I am pissy about the setlist, they always never fail to put on a crushing performance each and every time. Zetro’s voice still holds up at 60 years old, quite impressive yet and probably can do at least a couple more albums we hope. As much as we know Gary Holt is THEE MAN, we have seen his counterpart Lee Altus do alot heavy lifting as well in these songs with some ripping solos. This guy deserves a lot more credit that he gets.
To sum up here, yes, outstanding performance as expected from Exodus, to me however the setlist could’ve just been the latest live album. I am surprised they never went with that on this tour. After “Strike of the Beast”, I saw one guy put his hands on his head and yell out “What? that’s it?”, maybe expecting more. I think if they show up in 2 years again with a similar setlist they may not sell out the Rickshaw next time around. Love Exodus, they will always be my comfort food no matter, but in a live setting, you can only eat the same meal so many times. If you are newcomer to metal or just coming of age to attend these shows, the legendary Exodus are never to be missed!
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