Exodus: thrash metal’s all-ages bonding experience
EXODUS HAVE BEEN making their way over to British shores for more than four decades, and the sheer admiration and adoration for them here shows no signs of dimming. Just one look around the packed Academy and you’re met with the full array of hearts and horns they’ve recruited throughout their lifetime. From fading tour shirts worn by those who have followed them since the beginning, to newly stitched battle jackets proudly adorning the shoulders of the faith-defenders of the future, it’s a generation-spanning community that’s a testament to the headliners’ still-burning flame.
Though tonight’s celebration of savage longevity doesn’t just rest with the Bay Area boys. HIRAX open proceedings and demonstrate precisely why their cult status is so heavily deserved. With whirlwind riffs and heavy metal howls aplenty, the baying mob hungrily gobble up the splattering Drill Into The Brain and sizzling Lightning Thunder. Germany’s EXUMER have to work a little bit harder. Their style may be more aggressive, but vocalist Mem von Stein is the only one fully locked in, as he grits his teeth and air-guitars to every violent lick. That’s not to say that Possessed By Fire isn’t razor-sharp, and a few new fans have undoubtedly been added to their ranks as a result.