Shovel Headed Kill Machine

Shovel Headed Kill Machine is an extremely aggressive seventh album on which Exodus strings together high-speed chopping, sharp guitar and fierce, bellowing vocals. The first work of the new lineup welcoming the new vocalist Rob Dukes. Dukes’s rough, ferocious voice brings new aggression to the band. The songs proceed mercilessly forward, yet the deft switching of riffs and the dizzying changes of rhythm by no means allow monotony. From the aggression of the opener “Raze” and the powerful “Deathamphetamine” to a cut like “I Am Abomination,” every song is engaging, while cuts like “Shudder to Think” and “Karma’s Messenger” convey the work’s fullness. The sure heat of raw playing and cold, sharpened precision mix, powerfully creating thrash’s own dangerous tension. A record letting you fully savor Exodus’s violent drive again with a new voice. It powerfully inherits the energetic activity from the previous Tempo of the Damned. A powerful, engaging record announcing the start of the Rob Dukes era, which pursued a more modern, extremely aggressive sound — a record where the band’s new ferocity shines.