After a month of touring the U.S. the North American Disaster! tour nears its bittersweet end in Berkeley, CA. Supported by heavy-hitting acts such as Havok, Candy, and Dead Heat, Exodus reminds everyone why they are the kings of Bay Area Thrash.
Opening their set with “Last Act of Defiance” we are thrust into a monologue that brings to light the injustices of the prison system, enlightening us with the realization that though we are not behind prison walls, we are still prisoners to the system at large, posing the question of human ethics “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Â Ripping the stage with scorching riffs reminiscent of 1980s thrash, Gary Holt and Lee Altus melt the faces of the sold-out UC Theatre. From wall to wall, young and old, metal is alive and well within the hearts of our nation. Tom Hunting sets the pace with blistering drum patterns at break-neck speeds accompanied by Jack Gibson laying down the thunderous low end. Steve “Zetro” Souza bellows defiant lyrics with unrivaled ferocity and charisma.
“Friendly violent fun.” It is a simple yet effective phrase to describe a show with Exodus. Ripping through their hour-long set, Exodus performs banger after banger, new and old, such as the anthemic “Blood In, Blood Out”, the vengeful “Blacklist”, and the profane “War Is My Shepherd”. Zetro pays respects, and expresses love and gratitude to former and current members of Exodus before performing scorching “Deathemphetamine”. During their set, crowd surfers and stage divers could be found aplenty. (At one point, I took a kick to the back of the head.)
During the classic “Toxic Waltz” we are met with Wrex, tossing inflatable jumbo jets into the crowd. At this point, the crowd has endured blistering sets back to back and yet is still ready to throw down with one another. We end the night with the sweltering “Bonded By Blood” where Zetro commands the audience into the ever-famous “Wall of Death”. Metal Maniacs one and all pick a side across the room patiently awaiting the command to slam into one another during the bridge of this relentless tune.
If ever you get the chance to see Exodus, do not pass it up! You won’t regret seeing the Bay Area Thrash Metal’s Finest.
