Bonded by Blood

Bonded by Blood is the debut studio album by American 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 the record label. It is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time.[2] This is also the only full-length studio album of Exodus to feature Paul Baloff on vocals, though he was also on their 1982 Demo and appeared on their 1997 live album Another Lesson in Violence.

For other uses of the phrase, see Bonded by Blood (disambiguation).

Bonded by Blood
Studio album by
Exodus
ReleasedApril 25, 1985[1]
RecordedJuly 1984
StudioPrairie Sun Studios, Cotati, California
GenreThrash metal
Length40:49
LabelTorrid/Combat
ProducerMark Whitaker, Ken Adams, Todd Gordon
Exodus chronology
Bonded by Blood
(1985)		 Pleasures of the Flesh
(1987)
Alternative cover

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.

Album information

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.[1]

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").[3]

Album cover

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.

Reception and legacy
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[4]
Metal Forces10/10[5]

In a contemporary review, Bernard Doe of Metal Forces defined Bonded by Blood "a classic album in the thrash metal sense which is sure to be sneered at by the unconverted and mainstream media."[5]

Bonded by Blood received a positive modern review from Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic, who states: "Had it been released immediately after it was recorded in 1984, Exodus' Bonded by Blood might be regarded today alongside Metallica's Kill 'Em All as one of the landmark albums responsible for launching the thrash metal wave" and adds that "Exodus were left to wonder what kind of impact they may have had without these setbacks." Rivadavia also described Bonded by Blood as "an album whose influence far exceeds its actual notoriety, and it remains a crucial piece of the thrash metal puzzle – essential."[2] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff described Exodus as a band "doing what Metallica did best, and doing it with killer undeground savagery", and considered Bonded by Blood "a solid, forward-thinking record". However, he observed that their "purist lack of compromise made [Exodus] somehow toneless and haranguing compared to multi-dimensional personalities like Metallica and Megadeth."[4]

Accolades

In 2013, Bonded by Blood was ranked number 80 on Metal Rules' 'Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums'.[6] In August 2014, Revolver placed the album on its "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own" list.[7] The album was ranked number one on Loudwire's top ten list of "Thrash Albums NOT Released by the Big 4".[8]

In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Bonded by Blood as 45th on their list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[9]

Thrash metal revival act Bonded by Blood named themselves after the album.

Track listing

All music is composed by Gary Holt, unless noted otherwise

Side one
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Bonded by Blood"
 3:43
2."Exodus"
  • Baloff
  • Holt
 4:05
3."And Then There Were None"
 4:40
4."A Lesson in Violence"Holt
  • Holt
  • Rick Hunolt
3:49
5."Metal Command"
 4:13
Side two
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
6."Piranha"Baloff 3:45
7."No Love"Baloff 5:08
8."Deliver Us to Evil"
  • Holt
  • Whitaker
  • Holt
  • Hunolt
7:07
9."Strike of the Beast"
  • Baloff
  • Holt
 3:57
Re-issue edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
10."And Then There Were None" (live)
  • Holt
  • Hunting
 4:52
11."A Lesson in Violence" (live)Holt
  • Holt
  • Hunolt
3:26
Total length:49:07

Personnel

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[10]

Exodus

Additional personnel
  • Satan's Choir – backing vocals

Production
  • Ken Adams, Todd Gordon – executive producers
  • Mark Whitaker – production, assistant engineer, mixing
  • John Volaitis – engineer
  • Robin Yeager – mixing at Tres Virgos Studios, San Rafael, California August 1984
  • Gordon Lyons "The Triple Threat" – mixing assistant
  • George Horn – mixing, mastering at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California

Artwork and design
  • Donald J. Munz – cover art, layout
  • Richard A. Ferraro – cover painting

In the television series Cobra Kai, the character Raymond "Stingray" mentions Bonded by Blood while being confronted by a neighbor.[11]

References
  1. Dome, Malcolm (February 2006). "Exodus' Bonded By Blood: the story behind thrash metal's ultimate lesson in violence". Metal Hammer. No. 149. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  2. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Exodus – Bonded by Blood review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  3. "Exodus – Tempo of the Damned – Encyclopaedia Metallum". The Metal Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  4. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 111–112. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  5. Doe, Bernard (1985). "Exodus – Bonded by Blood". Metal Forces (9). Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  6. "The Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums". Metal Rules. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  7. "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own". Revolver.com. August 29, 2014. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  8. "Top 10 Thrash Albums NOT Released by the Big 4". Loudwire.com. October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  9. "Rolling Stone Share Their Choices For 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time'". Theprp.com. June 21, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  10. Bonded by Blood (booklet). Exodus. Combat Records. 1985.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. Enis, Eli (January 3, 2022). "Exodus' 'Bonded By Blood' Namedropped in 'Cobra Kai' Episode". Revolver. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
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