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I had been lucky since the return of Exodus, somebody else always ended up reviewing their new albums.  Not so this time.  Tempo of the Damned is one of the most overrated albums in the history of metal.  Shovel Headed Kill Machine had its moments (and pretty cool cover art, I must say.)  The band now claims that The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A will become a classic.  Well... How about... No?  I have two problems with newer Exodus.  (1) The vocalist.  I can't stand him, plain and simple.  The cleaner style has always been more appropriate for Exodus, so this really, really sticks out like a sore thumb.  He sounds like an annoying metalcore kid or some shit like that (well, to be fair, the vocals aren't really metalcore-ish, but just close to that annoyance level.)  (2) The groove.  "Groovy Thrash" is not bad per se, it's usually pretty catchy and this is no exception.  But it just doesn't have what it takes to be of much repeat value.  It's good for a while, but eventually you just stick it on a shelf and forget about it.  Call it the pop music of Thrash, if you will: Disposable.  And that's pretty much what Exodus have been serving us since their return.

With that said, it's not like the guys cannot play all of a sudden.  Somewhere beyond the simplistic-sounding groovy/poppy riffage, one can find a few rawer, sharper, more aggressive riffs, and even some ballsy drumming.  You'll even find a few songs here that, were it not for the vocals, are really, really good Thrash - no, not a replica of the Exodus of yore, but simply Thrash that sounds like it should - fucking metal with attitude.  Unfortunately, the groovy stuff is in the majority here, and that just doesn't have much lasting value.  But there's a good market for this stuff, and Exodus are tapping into it.  Personally, I'm not buying into the hype, sorry for those who are blinded by the superficiality of it all, but there's better Thrash out there, including a lot of those younger bands who may not always be all that original, but at least are doing it right.