FABULOUS DISASTER
FABULOUS DISASTER, the 3rd release from Bay Area Thrash Lords EXODUS is, without question, very muchly one of those albums. And EXODUS is, also without question, also very muchly one of those bands. In fact, this may be one of THE MUCHLIEST thrash albums of 1989 (more on that later…muchly more).
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The San Francisco Bay Area is a sacred place in thrash, birthplace to many legendary (and muchly important) thrash bands and equally lauded (which means muchly awesome) thrash albums.
On the Interwebs: ExodusAttack.com
Personnel
· Steve "Zetro" Souza – vocals
· Gary Holt – guitars, producer, mixing
· Rick Hunolt – guitars, producer, mixing
· Rob McKillop – bass
· Tom Hunting – drums
Additional musicians
· Dov Christopher – intro vocals on track 1, harmonica on track 5
· Brian Mantilla – additional percussion on track 4
Production
· Marc Senesac – producer, engineer, mixing
· David Plank – engineer
· Chad Munsey – mixing assistant
· Bernie Grundman – mastering
All music is composed by Gary Holt, except for Low Rider
Track listing
1. "The Last Act of Defiance" - 4:44
2. "Fabulous Disaster" - 4:54
3. "The Toxic Waltz" - 4:51
4. "Low Rider" (War cover) War, Jerry Goldstein - 2:48
5. "Cajun Hell" - 6:05
6. "Like Father, Like Son" - 8:11
7. "Corruption" - 5:46
8. "Verbal Razors" - 4:07
9. "Open Season" - 3:54
Total length: 50:47
Bonus track on CD and black-on-black vinyl issues
10. "Overdose" (AC/DC cover) Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott - 5:31
Go ahead and get your orders phoned in for Ron’s signature Emerald Triangle Jalapeno Relaxers (they’re muchly delicious), pop the above-mentioned cassette in the tape deck of your low rider on side 1 while you channel your internal Cheech-energy and JOIN US as we salute one of the finest moments of late 80’s-era thrash in existence.
THE LAST ACT OF DEFIANCE:
That’s got to be one of the most sinisterly seriously intros in all of thrash. If you read those lyrics, you’ll see that it’s about a prison riot (see also New Mexico State penitentiary riot) which brings to mind the scene at the end of the 1994 Oliver Stone classic Natural Born Killers, where the inmates end up returning to Warden McClusky the karma that he’d been mercilessly dealing out to them.
NOW imagine hearing this song blasting away from your “auto-reverse” tape deck in 1989 and flashing the horns to everyone else driving the speed limit while you blow past them rocking your balls off to Exodus. Ahhh, sweet memories. Of the driving and jamming. I’m quite sure that riot is something people would like to cancel out of their minds forever.
FABULOUS DISASTER:
Actually, our futures are in the hands of mad men!! A song about nuclear annihilation…or population annihilation, or also BOLTH! Irregardless, it’s one of the most insanely killer tunes in all of Thrash; 2 totally different riffs being played at the same time in perfect unison with devastatingly heavy precision…this is what “beauty” sounds like. And by “beauty”, I mean high grade Thrash.
Also, before you get too wound up, YES, “irregardless” is, in fact, a word. Know what it means? Regardless!!
(You’re welcome, btw.)
THE TOXIC WALTZ:
One of the most celebrated components about a live thrash show is moshing, and this song is a fantastic tribute to the slam-dancing/moshing/skanking/pogo-ing/grooving/stage diving, etc. that used to be an essential component at any hyper-energetic thrash show.
Also worthy of note, it’s their first big “hit” (if we’re going to use that word), with a video on MTV back when MTV was actually kinda cool, but only because they had Headbanger’s Ball. Check out the dual guitar shreddery courtesy of The H Team Captains Holt & Hunolt.
LOW RIDER:
WAR’s Low Rider seemed like a strange choice for a cover, but for a band hailing from somewhere near the Emerald Triangle in Cali, it seemed like a perfect choice. Plus, it showcases Exodus’ ability to take anything and heavy the fuck out of it (and also make it FUN!). For the record, it’s also a great song to enjoy with your relaxers. Just sayin’…
CAJUN HELL:
For some reason, that lonely harmonica and acoustic guitar give this tune an unsettlingly eerie “Legend of Wooly Swamp meats Deliverance” on hallucinogens kinda vibe. I can only imagine that the boys in Exodus must’ve had a run-in with Justin Wilson at which time they perhaps realized that Acadians are as legendary at cooking as Exodus are at thrashing. Or perhaps it was about some charming, swamp groupie they met on a tour stop in Baton Rouge…
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON:
The intro (let’s be real: it was kind of a soft intro) calls back to the closing of the spoken intro on The Last Act of Defiance with the sound of a baby crying, illustrating mistreatment and abuse can potentially turn children into violent, hardened criminals later in life. Read. Those. Lyrics.
“The pattern of hurting began generations before…”
CORRUPTION:
How insanely ironic that this song is still absurdly applicable 32 years later!! I’m sure anyone outside the Thrash multiverse would be super-triggered by the lyrics in this song (or really, any Exodus song!). If you feel triggered, perhaps think of ways that you can take steps to help end the plague of corruption that infests our planet. (If you’re following along with the bouncing ball, bureaucrats are the poster children for corruption.)
“Let US know…Tell US how…”
VERBAL RAZORS:
That’s one of the most “visual” ways of explaining what happens to someone when they finally lose their patience, SNAP, and begin repetitively projectile vomiting vitriol and rage via words. Sometimes you’ve just gotta let it all out and get it out of your system. Like let it really ring out. (Okay, turn it off now…).
OPEN SEASON:
What a way to close it out (if you had the cassette version); it’s got the same speed, fury, and intensity as the opening track. The dark irony that Open Season is the song immediately following Verbal Razors is not lost on me. And remember, if you’re easily triggered, definitely DON’T. Read. Those. Lyrics.
OVERDOSE:
A great addition to bolth the compact disc and vinyl versions (and the actual closer on BOLTH of those versions, btw). Zetro absolutely NAILS the Bon Scott aesthetic to this AC/DC tune!! It’s as much a thrash version of Bon Scott as Glenn Danzig is a metal version of Elvis Presley. Even the heaviness of the riffs…Exodus truly made this their own while still keeping the feel of the original. And for that, Exodus, we give you thanks. HAIL!
Show Notes:
(00:00) – #whatsup with the #shots (I only need half a #dangol bowl) / A return to our 33rd Floor Inverted Underground Bunker Poon studios #innies and #outies (pooning the peen) and the #metaldecor courtesy of Billiam / Diving into one of the Finest (and #bestest) moments in Thrash: #Exodus Fabulous Disaster #notpassing #videomoviething #ultimaterevenge / Russell’s updated 1990 look: hard or soft? a #huge #eyerection / Ultimate Revenge numero uno #negativepositivereinforcement #yourewrong #waitwhat #oldfuck #driverslicense #pregrey and the story of The Stars and the process of renewals #ohno #pizzadelivery
(10:32) – Released January 30th, 1989 (#TheHTeam and a bit of #tangentionalalityismness to Kirk Hammett and #theunnamedalbum) / Alpha & Omega Recording in San Francisco & released on COMBAT Records (***go check out our COMBAT episode!!***Also, Lee Altus was the answer we were looking for…) #sinnersac / #Zetro and the Bon Scott vocal sound ***check out #ACDZ***/ #kickoutthejams with #psychedelic #comicbooks #boLth or #boLf and people who don’t speak #metalnerderyese / The C version vs the K version of the word #notbitter (we’re teasing…) #mouthsounds #gohome #kuntkrickets (nothing better than enjoying #relaxers whilst at #work)***PLEASE LEAVE US A RATING AND ANY FEEDBACK YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE METAL NERDERY MULTIVERSE***
(19:55) – Show memories from the Fabulous Disaster #Headbangersball Tour 04/20/1989 at The Civic Center #flippin #noteven and a future Metal Nerdery concert field trip #blessing and a #jukebox / #backshadowing reverb THE LAST ACT OF DEFIANCE (with one of the most #badass intros EVAH!!) #killeropener #again (***see also Deranged***) #shortandcurlies and a word from Ron regarding The Rib Lounge #warmline at 980-666-8182 and the new #relaxers on #themenu
(26:24) – FABULOUS DISASTER (#digitalrecordscratch and the digital vinyl experience along with a fabulous and perfectly choreographed #onmicburp) / THE TOXIC WALTZ #headbangersballs #ballparties and more #krickets (#dances with #nuts) and a brief shoutout to #sweetwaterbarandgrill #balltoball and being in the #moshpit with a walker and/or cane and reasons to work out and exercise as you age / The amplification used on Fabulous Disaster (see also Tom Langner #hotrodded and #modded #marshalls) #regrets and #blowingtubes
(37:35) – LOW RIDER (a #covertune by #War with commentary courtesy of #cheechchannelling) #dedicatedtorelaxers / CAJUN HELL (#veryvisual and also #verycreepy) and potentially crazy tour stories from the #bayou / Side Dos: LIKE FATHER LIKE SON (#thelongest) #readthoselyrics / The #progressive element in #thrash, a #preblackalbumreference and having multiple parts with multiple #crunchyballriffs packed into a single song / #wingsauce
(47:12) – Dedicated to #bureaucrattrash and #humangarbage #everywhere CORRUPTION (#letUSknow #tellUShow) #yogametal #thenewcore #audiocalgoncore (I #seent it be #spillt) #hail to #boLth / VERBAL RAZORS (and a #shoutout to that technical Angus Youngian #riff #canyoufeelit #letitringout) #readthoselyrics and #prebackshadowing and #thelasttrackofdefiance OPEN SEASON (is that #spiritualhealing or perhaps a #ghostinthemachine?)
(55:09) - #boneus track (that particular #blackalbumreference was mostly Russell’s fault!) and the colors of various albums from a certain band possessing #tangentionalality to #Exodus / #akkadakka #ACDC and an #excellent #cover of OVERDOSE proving that #ACDCismetal / ***The NEW #Exodus album is PERSONA NON GRATA…coming in November*** (originally scheduled for a June releasestical date) / #Rockville #metalfestival #kentuckyjelly #fourthings Not sure Exodus is #deathmetal (and a shoutout to “the part of me that’s always 16…”/ #WTF is it with #metalbands NOT coming to the #ATL !? / And a slight moment of #transgentionalalityismness / Fabulous Disaster is definitely a Filet Mignon / Any relevant tracking changes are thanks to the #blackdog and also #thankyou for listening!! / ***CALL METAL NERDERY AT 980-666-8182*** and also phone in your order for Ron’s special pork loin & jalapeno infused #relaxers ***GO BUY OUR SHIT at metalnerdery.com/merch and send Lars some gum on the #gumapp #tridentvibes #untilthenext #farewell #scrambledeastereggs.