EXODUS – Goliath (Album Review)

The mighty metallic giant returns.

Much like the Old Testament figures contained within their namesake, Exodus is a historically significant institution that has seen its fair share of trials and tribulations. Originally an early pioneering band of the thrash metal subgenre and one-time home of later Metallica shredder Kirk Hammett, they arguably defined the metal spirit during the second half of the 1980s and directly challenged the media-concocted suggestion that there were only four titans standing at the scene’s apex.

The 1990s were subsequently the least kind to them relative to most of the other major players, relegating them to obscurity and inactivity for the lion’s share of the decade, and even an explosive revival during the mid-2000s would see frequent lineup shifts hampering their efforts in the eyes of their core fans. Now with highly charismatic and iconic front man Zetro Souza exiting the fold once again, the obvious question is, will this staple of uncompromising aggression rise to meet the challenge again? The answer with 2026’s Goliath, a powerhouse opus of old school thrash wrapped in modern packaging, is a resounding yes.

As with most of the old guard, Exodus is not an outfit that has sought to recreate or otherwise relive the past since their 2004 return to the scene in Tempo Of The Damned, but is one that has embraced the largess of modern production practices. The aforementioned albums and the subsequent late 2000s opuses of Shovel Headed Kill Machine and the Atrocity Exhibit albums, all of which featured the band’s present lineup, stand at the opposite end of the sonic spectrum relative to the 80s-obsessed New Wave of Old School Thrash Metal bands that began cropping up at the same time.

Spearheading an arrangement characterized by a colossal rhythm section consisting of the ultra-crisp battery of founder and drummer Tom Hunting and the distorted glassy punch of Jack Gibson’s bass is a dual guitar assault out of Lee Altus and original axe-slinger Gary Holt that stands at a perfect middle ground between the mainline melodic and technical high-jinks of Megadeth and Forbidden and the darker, more dissonant world of Slayer. The wildcard of the bunch is recently returning vocalist Rob Dukes, who was met with heavy skepticism by hardcore fans back during his initial run in the late 2000s but brings his A-game to this album and rivals the primal snarl of Zetro at every turn.

The promise of a truly brutal undertaking has been fully underway for a little over a month since the breakout single “3111” had its promotional video removed from YouTube due to excessively violent content, proving that edginess can still endure in a convincing form well after a band has graduated from their 20s.

Needless to say, this opening foray of menacing dissonance and pummeling riff work depicting the carnage of narco-terrorism in Juarez, Mexico, is a fitting first act to a sonic play of uncompromising aggression. High octane thrashers such as “Hostis Humani Generis” and “Beyond The Event Horizon” represent some of the fastest and most impressive feats of 80s-tinged speed in a modern package to be heard out of this outfit in over a decade, with the virtuosic chops of Holt and Altus being the key feature.

A strong hint of hardcore punk and some autobiographical content shouted in masterful form by Dukes and some flashy 4-string work out of Gibson come into the equation with the closing crusher “Dirtiest Of The Dozen”, bookending a career of defying auditory boundaries for over 4 decades and showing zero signs of slowing down.

True to form since their mid-2000s reformation, Exodus is a powerhouse that does not live by speed alone and dishes out a healthy cuisine of mid-paced destruction to balance out the frenzied madness. Recent promotional single and meaty anthem “Promise You This” stands the tallest amid a bunch of moderate length, earth-shaking entries with ear worm hooks and busy riff galore that also includes the 90s Megadeth-like beast “2 Minutes Hate” and the cruising melodic machine “The Changing Me”, the latter containing arguably the most insanely harsh yet versatile vocal display out of Dukes in his entire tenure.

The grooves come loaded with some funky bass undertones courtesy of “Violence Works”, creating an ironic synchronicity of fun and lyrical morbidity that hearkens back to the experimental days of thrash something fierce. But where this album truly throws their signature grit into original territory is the menacing, doom-steeped and punishingly slow dirge of a title entry “Goliath” and the near 8-minute-long towering epic “Summon Of The Unknown God”, possibly the most compositionally and technically ambitious entry to grace an Exodus album to date.

Goliath is the sort of well-rounded, methodically crafted yet highly inventive album that fits neatly into the current sonic paradigm of elite Bay Area outfits. It doesn’t quite go so far as to reinvent the entire subgenre and is more of a grower than the seminal works that put them on the map back in the 80s, but any self-respecting thrash maniac who isn’t married to where the style was before 1991 will be hard-pressed to find any fault within this gargantuan golem of metal glory.

Release Date: March 20th, 2026
Record Label: Napalm Records
Genre: Thrash Metal

Musicians:

• Gary Holt / Guitars
• Rob Dukes / Vocals
• Lee Altus / Guitars
• Jack Gibson / Bass
• Tom Hunting / Drums

Goliath Tracklist:

1. 3111
2. Hostis Humani Generis
3. The Changing Me (feat. Peter Tägtgren)
4. Promise You This
5. Goliath (feat. Katie Jacoby)
6. Beyond The Event Horizon
7. 2 Minutes Hate
8. Violence Works
9. Summon Of The God Unknown
10. The Dirtiest Of The Dozen

Order the album here.