Exodus Bonded by Return of Rob Dukes
Metal, beer, blood, and more Good Friendly Writing Fun
Brotherly love on the stage. Brotherly shoves in the pit. With their sonic mortar and pestle, Exodus pulverized The Fillmore Philadelphia faithful to wrap up Decibel Magazine’s two-night Metal & Beer Fest last week.
What a beautiful set of thrash.
Philly is a mere two hours from my home in North Jersey. Attending a band’s first show of the year is nice. But of way greater significance here, it was the initial Exodus gig with Rob Dukes back on the mic after 11 years—history, and I like being a part of that. Plus, the pandemonium that ensues when Gary Holt and the gang get going is something else.
Full album shows, which started gaining traction in the ’70s and have become more of a concert staple in the 21st century, are right in my wheelhouse. It was another reason to witness Exodus yet again, four decades to the day that Bonded By Blood was released to boot. An iconic recording that’s at or near the top of lists galore, experiencing the entire thing on that Saturday was as sweet as a bucket of blueberries or a Twix bar.
While I haven’t been studying setlists for as long as basketball statistics, it’s a fun interest of mine. They played a dozen songs: The first five from BBB, then “Deathamphetamine” and “Blacklist”, followed by the next three tracks from the LP and then “The Toxic Waltz”, with the album closer “Strike Of The Beast” functioning as their closer. The non-Bonded cuts are Exodus standards, but I wasn’t expecting bustouts and rarities during a festival set like this.
Music that challenges the status quo, not only with social commentary in the lyrics, is important. That’s Exodus. It’s a big reason why they’re so engaging, and the engagement was high in Philly. Constant movement onstage—Dukes stomping around, Holt from right to center to left and back and forth again—was mirrored by constant movement on the floor. When the pit opens all the way to the rail, you know it’s a good but hectic evening, and it did exactly that several times. Some folks online said the vocals were mixed too low, who knows if they even attended, but it worked for me. Let’s not forget, however, that thrash is very much a riff game, and these riffs have life, soul, and bounce. I felt all three in Philadelphia to the nth degree.
Aside from the metal, there was beer. Which I don’t drink. Had it been the Metal & Jack Daniels Fest, I would’ve splurged for the ticket that included alcohol…along with a hotel room.
The ride home was quick. Uneventful. No tunes, no radio, just my thoughts and the sound of my Forester—every family in The Garden State seemingly has a Subaru, not kidding—cutting through the darkness on 95 and 287. The upcoming Bonded By Blood shows, especially the throwdown in Berkeley on Paul Baloff’s birthday, will also be historic, maybe even more than this first reunited-with-Rob gig. The Swarm of Horror Tour should be awesome, and my guess is that’s where the first Dukes-era originals begin taking over setlists. We learned a month ago that Exodus is tracking not one but two albums, too.
Here we go. Smiles and blood all around.
Exodus 04/05/25 Setlist
Bonded By Blood, Exodus, And Then There Were None, A Lesson In Violence, Metal Command, Deathamphetamine > Blacklist, Piranha, No Love, Deliver Us To Evil, The Toxic Waltz, Strike Of The Beast
Many thanks to Blabbermouth.net for using the videos I shot in their recap.