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EXODUS/Biomechanical/Serpentia
Camden Underworld, London, 7 November 2006

Review by Joe Geesin

A host of young thrash fans (and some oldies too) came out on this cold Tuesday night, for a sweaty night of extreme metal. First concert here for Exodus for a while, new line-up (including a new singer, after original member Paul Ballof died of a heart attack) in tow. And although the doors were late in opening all the bands appeared on time, which has to be a first.

The Polish don't just provide plumbers, carpenters and body builders, there's opening band Serpentia too. Noisy, in places intricate and panel beating in others, not sure what category they'd fit into but the vocals (growling through a sock into a bucket of gravel, beam it to Pluto and back then amplify) were at the death/grindcore end of the spectrum. Proved popular with the few there who weren't in the bar.

Biomechanical were better, more extreme thrash, slightly more coherent (as a band, not just the vocals), with 'Awakening' amongst others going down well. The headbanging, posturing and 'Motherfucking' were more deliberate, if a little overblown, staged, false. Their best track was a rather good cover of Judas Priest's 'Painkiller'.

The place was close to heaving when Exodus. Original Bay Area thrash, if not the premier division of others. Constant, consistent brutality, fast, thrashing material. New singer (I think I caught the surname of Dukes) looks like a small version of Giant Haystacks, and commands the stage well with some good crowd banter, and there was a huge roar when the band took the stage.

Exodus may have not made the premier division but it's easy to see (if you like this kind of extreme metal) why the old ones are the best. They last long for the obvious reasons.

'Death And Famine' went down well, and the tongue in cheek comment of 'Are you tired? Do you want something slow?' before '44 Magnum Opus' brought a cheer.

Invitations for the 'older fans' to come down and appreciate 1985 material raised a few fists too.

'Star Spangled Banner' was pretty extreme too.

Noisy, earsplitting, but within that frame of reference, a good job well done.

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