exodus_2008_08

» Exodus 2008 08 26

Reviewed by David
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Special guest: 3 Inches Of Blood
City: Helsingborg, Sweden
Venue: The Tivoli
Date: 26 August 2008
3 Inches Of Blood set length: 45 minutes
Exodus set length: 70 minutes

3 Inches Of Blood

3 Inches Of Blood are perhaps most famous for the incident last year when the (now former) drummer of the band Alexei Rodriguez clocked Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler. But with no prior musical experience of these Canadians I got a bit of a surprise. First, they did not represent the modern sounding thrash/metalcore scene that the name suggests. It is in fact rather old school thrash/speed metal. Second, they were quite good for an international opening act these days. (Sometimes it seems like they are chosen rather to ensure that they will not overshadow the main act in any way).

Singer Cameron Todd Pipes represents the screamier ones, which can be a bit trying after a while. But here I think he actually grew a bit during the set. The talking was the worst of 'Are you having a good time tonight?' in different versions though. Why is it so hard to say something funny or relevant from a stage for some people? I don't expect everybody to be Dee Snider or IA Eklundh, but please come up with anything new! Nevertheless, a perfect warm up act for the evening with great enthusiasm and some well deserved crowd response from the front row.

6 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Exodus

'The vocals suck of course', was Rob Dukes own words about the coming re-recordings of the classic Bonded By Blood. It is nice with some self-knowledge sometimes. Because that was also the main problem tonight. Dukes might be an impressive sight, but besides from his utter appearance and some killer looks, he did a rather flat impression, both as a vocalist and as a front actor.

A part of it might depend on the fact that he had caught a bad stomach the night before in Germany. He actually had to leave the stage three times to visit the toilet. On one of these occasions Cameron Todd Pipes from 3 Inches Of Blood took over for a few lines in Piranha. It immediately gave the whole thing more energy. In Seek & Destroy some random (?) guy from the audience jumped up on stage and took over the vocals. That actually turned out better as well.

Personally I don't think the setlist was the ultimate either. After a dull version of Bonded By Blood the next half an hour went on without any real kick in the face. A few overrated oldies were mixed with songs from the less impressive Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A. But with Piranha and some semi-new songs like Deathamphetamine, Blacklist and War Is My Shepherd, we got into a higher gear.

I don't know if Seek & Destroy contains yet another of the riffs that Kirk Hammet is supposed to have stolen with him when he left Exodus for Metallica, but although delivered with a playful spite in the eye it is another of those cover songs that appears unnecessary when you have a load of great classics on your own.

It was Tuesday night and the attendance of hard rockers from Southern Sweden was quite bad, to be honest. And although a little mosh now and then, those present mostly pursued a wait-and-see position. The band however should have credit for not caring too much about these things, but delivered what they were supposed to. Guitarist and bandfather Gary Holt even seemed to be in great mood. The 'new guys' Lee Altus and Jack Gibson seemed like they did another day at the job though.

It might seem a bit unfair, but compared to the almost magical evening at Sweden Rock Festival 2004, with 'Zetro' Souza and Rick Hunolt in their finest shape and the modern classic Tempo Of The Damned just out, this was nothing but a bleak reflection.

5 chalices of 10

SETLIST:

Bonded By Blood
Iconoclasm
Funeral Hymn
And Then There Were None
A Lesson In Violence
Children Of A Worthless God
Piranha
Deathamphetamine
Blacklist
War Is My Sheppard
Seek & destroy (Metallica cover)
The Toxic Waltz
Strike Of The Beast