Steve Souza muistelee Exoduksen ”Bonded By Blood” -debyyttialbumia: ”Mielestäni levy asetti thrash metalin riman uudelle tasolle”

United Rock Nations haastatteli thrash metal -veteraani Exoduksen vokalisti Steve ”Zetro” Souzaa Ranskassaa Carmauxissa järjestetyssä Xtreme Fest -tapahtumassa. Souza kommentoi seuraavasti yhtyeen pysyvää vaikutusvaltaa ja pitkäikäisyyttä:

”Well, when you’re the innovator of a sound, when you’re there in the beginning… There’s gotta be somebody there in the beginning, and there’s not just one: there’s METALLICA, SLAYER and ANTHRAX and MEGADETH and TESTAMENT and EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL and OVERKILL and DARK ANGEL… All those bands were there in the beginning, and I think ’cause we still put out quality music — really good, heavy music. It’s not like just because we are thirty years into our history now that we feel we can, ’Ah, we’ll just write a couple of good songs, and seven of them will just sound okay.’ No. Every song on the album has to still kick ass — has to.”

Yhtyeen ”Bonded By Blood” -debyyttialbumia hän kommentoi seuraavasti:

”I think that that record set the level, set the bar for thrash. If this is what you wanna be as a thrash band, you have to have songs that are [fast] and then songs that grind. And lyrically, it’s dirty and ’kick in your face and rape and murder your wife.’ Really dirty. We write about piranha. Why? Because a piranha will eat you, you know what I mean? We write about ’deliver us to evil,’ not ’deliver us from evil.’ And, of course, ’Strike Of The Beast’. That record… The way I explain it, it’s like somebody’s hand is in front of your face for 54 minutes — just like that. That’s how I explain ’Bonded By Blood’.”

Souza kertoi seuraavaa yhtyeen kehityksestä 1980-luvulta nykypäivään:

”[The difference is in the] musicianship. I was a kid when I put that out. I was 21. I’m 52 now. I’ve been doing this for 31 years on a record level, so if you don’t know how to do something after 31 years, maybe you shouldn’t be doing that anymore, you know what I mean? So I feel that the musicianship, as far as writing and playing, is all top notch, and that’s why the band is successful.”

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