Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

For over 30 years American Thrash Metal band Exodus have primed their audiences with enough energy to fill more long life batteries than Duracell could ever muster, the violence they play up to only for show and for the crowd to draw off strength too and the influence of this has been keenly felt across many venues and cities throughout America, Europe and Britain.

Yet for whatever reason of planning and touring schedule conflicts, Liverpool, arguably the lynchpin in cultural diversity and acceptance in the U.K., has not had the pleasure of the band’s company, a travesty finally put right against the backdrop of spreading sweat and musical authority that dominated every inch and fabric inside the 02 Academy; from the look on every face, glowing expectancy and drained persona going hand in hand, Exodus more than made up for their omission of Liverpool’s Metal fan base.

It was an authority that hit out right from the start of the set, the command to let go, to see the tight pit bulge with respect, the Mosh induced circle almost swirling like colliding stars and planets exploding in a symphony of musical violence, it was to see supreme Metal clout at work and the clash of denim and leather that made the American led invasion show every inch of its muscle such a treat for the long lost Merseyside fan.

Ten studio albums down the line and the band still remain a draw, a headbangers’ dream to be involved in and as the group tore into whatever remaining energy was left after two superb support slots, the headiness of the situation became clear; this was a night where no soul would be left untouched, where any resistance would be met with dynamite and T.N.T, the form of clay going up against Nuclear Fusion leaves no scars, only a force of might that is insane to ignore.

With songs such as Blood In, Blood Out, the brilliant and Then There Were None, the gut busting Children Of A Lesser God, Body Harvest, A Lesson In Violence and War Is My Shepherd making their presence known with ferocity and the odd crowd surfer seemingly tumbling out of the sky, falling like Icarus but still able to head bang as he plunged to Earth, Exodus proved that the desire for the genre is there, it just takes faith on behalf of the groups associated with it to know that people in Liverpool will come.

A night of high quality Thrash Metal, all the fans now need is for the big four to understand the need to perform in the city of abiding culture.

Ian D. Hall