Album Review: Exhorder – Slaughter In The Vatican / The Law
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
Anyone who was in the Sophie Lancaster Tent at Bloodstock 2019 will be able to attest to the sheer power and force that the reunited New Orleans groove thrashers Exhorder brought to the festival. Their album ‘Mourn the Southern Skies’ was a visceral slab of metal which picked up where the band left off. But although the band’s appearance fulfilled the long wait for the older school fans, there may well have been those there that day who were unaware of the position that the band hold in the mid-late 80s thrash movement.
That wrong can be righted with the release of their two classic full-length records in one CD package via Cherry Red Records. The package includes liner notes from the late Malcolm Dome, who carried out interviews with the sole original member of the current line-up, singer Kyle Thomas, as part of the release. It is also a welcome opportunity to revisit both albums and dive deep into the legacy of the band described by Metal Hammer as “the greatest thrash band you’ve never heard of.”
Released on October 23, 1990, ‘Slaughter in the Vatican’ is the best known of the two albums. Featuring Thomas, guitarists Vinne Labella and Jay Cervalo who both added the bass, and drummer Chris Nail. The original album cover was brilliant, portraying a startled pope being led to the gallows by two suited men whilst a legion of metal fans lined the route. The Exhorder sound here comprised death metal style double bass pedals, ferociously fast thrashing guitars with a groove feel and Thomas’ snarling vocal delivery. Immediate comparisons with the likes of Pantera are inevitable, as there is a common thread that binds the two bands in terms of their delivery. However, Exhorder stayed much closer to the thrash feel.
With a variation in tempos throughout, this is not an out and out thrash album, but it stands right on the margins. Opener ‘Death in Vain’ switches between head down full throttle brutality and a heavier grinding groove synonymous with Pantera. It is full-face melting in other parts mind, for ‘Homicide’ and the anthemic ‘Exhorder’ take no prisoners. Stick your head out of the window as the bruising ‘The Tragic Period’ steamrollers through and see how long it will stay attached to the body. It is a vicious and aggressive album that comprises solid, fluid and technically excellent musicianship.
The guitar work is blistering, the drumming anchors everything tight and Thomas’s raw raging delivery is perfectly suited to the maelstrom that the band create. It is heavy as a bus load of elephants. ‘Legions of Death’ is a combination of several styles, but all the time focus is on blistering metal. And few albums can finish with such a brutal one-two as this one with the explosive ‘Anal Lust’ followed by the brooding title track. It is an album that sounds as fresh today as it did in 1990.
‘The Law’ arrived in March 1992 and whilst the savage aural assault was maintained, the sound moved further away from that earlier thrash blend and focused on a more groove-heavy style. The line-up saw the addition of Frankie Sparcello on bass. It is a slightly shorter release, clocking in around 38 minutes in total, with the longest track a solid cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Into the Void’.
The change of direction is evident in the first track ‘Soul Search Me,’ which opens fast but slows into a sludgy crawl. There are still plenty of hard-hitting riffs to be had here, with the bludgeoning intro of ‘Unforgiven’ leading to another slow but heavy track. Searingly hot guitar work screams as the tension builds. It is a track that is schizophrenic in nature, flicking between huge knuckle dragging riffs and a more vibrant, pounding approach which crosses the thrash line at several points.
However, for the thrash purist, ‘The Law’ will not tick every box. The slower feel on tracks like ‘Incontinence’ and the title track is much more in keeping with the evolution of the groove metal sound, and as time went by, bands such as Machine Head and Lamb of God were amongst many citing Exhorder as a key influence.
Personally, I love both releases with ‘Slaughter’ a long-time favourite. If you are a fan, then revisiting these is no hardship. If you are new to Exhorder, this is the perfect opportunity to secure a quality piece of heavy metal music in an all-new package.
