A few weeks back I talked about Bucket List Bands, bands I would love to see live some day. That particular conversation was about Iron Maiden, which was definitely a band that qualified. I went about formulating a list, and one of these days I will share it. But one of the bands that made it onto the list was Exodus. Now, I am not a massive fan of Exodus's entire catalog, but I have previously said that I believe that Bonded by Blood is one of, if not the, greatest thrash metal albums of all time. On Monday night, Exodus came to Omaha, and my wife and I made the trip to see them.
The show was at the Slowdown, a fairly new venue, at least it appears that way. It was a very nice venue and I hope to see more shows there. Opening up for Exodus were a couple of local bands, one of which I have previously seen and the other of which I have heard before.
We were a little bit late, but did not miss much. Orpheus was already on the stage when I walked in, while my wife decided to go for some ice cream. I saw Orpheus as one of the opening bands at the Goatwhore concert a few months back. I was pretty impressed with their brand of death/thrash metal at the time. I was even more impressed this time. Their music was fast and brutally intense and they were the biggest surprise of the night.
Narcotic Self is a Nebraska band that is reasonably well-known. I would argue that they have the feel of a band that is right on the cusp of making a big name for themselves. On their most recent album, they managed to secure the guest vocals of Soilwork's Bjorn "Speed" Strid. And their brutal thrash metal sound is damn impressive as well. They also have a very strong stage presence and really got the crowd into their set. This band could be going places.
Exodus was next to the stage and they played a blistering set that covered much of their history. Bonded by Blood was well-represented, as it should have been. The band also played select songs from their most recent album (which I love) and the Atrocity Exhibit albums (which are not as impressive). The band sounded like a band half their age. There was a ton of energy and enthusiasm and some damn impressive riffwork. Steve "Zetro" Souza sounded great as he screeched out his vocals and he kept the crowd involved, though some people got a little too into it. One person had to be escorted out after getting into a fight in the pit. "The Toxic Waltz" was a particular crowd favorite and really had the pit moving. Overall, Exodus was terrific. They were well worth the wait, though I am not sure my wife agreed.
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