Force of Habit

Force of Habit is an ambitious fifth album on which Exodus, rather than merely repeating its former high-speed thrash, boldly steps into heavier mid-tempo and longer, elaborate developments. Experimental content reflecting the early 1990s, a period of great change in the metal scene. Gary Holt’s guitar is still sharp, yet here it is more strongly conscious of the riffs’ sure weight and tenacity. A record inscribing the band’s new challenge. From the powerful drive of the opener “Thorn in My Side” and the drama of the title track “Force of Habit” to a cut like “Fuel for the Fire,” every song is engaging, while cuts like “Me, Myself & I” and “One Foot in the Grave” convey the work’s fullness. It also includes a cover of AC/DC’s “Bitch,” showing its broad musicality. A record on which, though the change of musical direction is certainly great, Exodus’s own rough playing core is not lost in the least. It inscribes at once the band’s vigorous drive to greatly widen the language of thrash and the hard, heavy air particular to the early 1990s. With this work as its last, the band entered a long hiatus once. An engaging record with a distinctive appeal particular to a transitional period.