Exodus "Bonded By Blood"

Bonded by Blood is the debut studio album by the Bay Area thrash metal band Exodus. Although the album was completed in the summer of 1984, it was not released until 1985 due to issues with Exodus and their record label. It is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time. It is also the only full-length studio album of Exodus to feature Paul Baloff on vocals, though he was also on their 1982 Demo. Baloff was back in Exodus for five years (from 1997 to his death in 2002), and appeared on their 1997 live album Another Lesson in Violence.

In 2008, Exodus re-recorded Bonded by Blood and re-released it as Let There Be Blood, featuring a new line-up of members aside from drummer Tom Hunting and guitarist Gary Holt who played on the original.

Bonded by Blood was originally titled A Lesson in Violence, but had its name changed when a suitable cover idea could not be found. An advance cassette copy of the album (with the original title) was widely distributed through the tape-trading network upon the record's completion late in the summer of 1984, creating an immense underground buzz prior to the official release of the LP. The release was delayed, however, due to problems with the artwork.

The song "Impaler" was originally to be featured on Bonded by Blood, but it was abandoned when Kirk Hammett took the main riff with him to Metallica (it was used on "Trapped Under Ice").

The original album cover art was an illustration of good and evil conjoined twin infants. For the 1989 reissue this cover was replaced with the band logo on a red and black image of a crowd. The album was remastered and re-issued by Century Media in 1999 in Europe only, with two live tracks from its Combat re-release in 1989, featuring Steve Souza on vocals. This reissue from Century Media restored the original twin cover artwork.

Track list:

Side A

1. Bonded by Blood 03:44   
2. Exodus 04:05   
3. And Then There Were None 04:40   
4. A Lesson in Violence 03:49   
5. Metal Command 04:13  

Side B

1. Piranha 03:46   
2. No Love 05:09
3. Deliver Us to Evil 07:08  
4. Strike of the Beast 03:57  

Total time:  40:31  

Some songs were co-written by Kirk Hammett.

The song Bonded by Blood came to be, after a 'bonding experience' between Kirk Hammett, Gary Holt, Tom Hunting and Paul Baloff. One night, after drinking they were talking about how great it was to be in a band, and play the music they like. At some point, they decided that they wanted to immortalize it. So, the four used a razor blade make some cuts in their hands and mix their blood and therefore be "bonded by blood". Kirk talked about this in a video where he thinks back on Paul Baloff.

Recording information:

Recorded at Prarie Sun Studios, July 1984.

Mixed at Tres Virgos Studios, August 1984.

Mastered at Fantasy Studios.

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