Exodus – Persona Non Grata

Exodus – Persona Non Grata
Release Date: 19th November 2021
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
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Genre: Thrash Metal
FFO: Metallica, Slayer, Overkill, Testament.
Review By: Jordan Burton-Morris

Thrash metal titans Exodus are back at it with another album! I’ve been anticipating this album for a while, so very happy to be reviewing it!

Literally translating to “an unwelcome” or “unacceptable” person, Persona Non Grata touches on themes of modern societal disgust and degradation. For the third time in the band’s history, Exodus returned to Swedish artist Par Olofsson to create the album artwork. A three-faced, winged creature sits atop a bloody pile of diseased and rotting humans as they scream in pain and reach their hands up desperately towards the beast. Undead riot cops beat mercilessly, and senselessly upon this pile of the dying, and the world is red with fresh, sopping blood. 

Opener and title track Persona Non Grata shows that these guys have not lost it over time, with the rapid drums, crushing riffs, thunderous bass which takes prominence at all the right points, and the vocals filled with passion. It may not be Paul Baloff, but let’s be honest, Zetro is a very good replacement.

R.E.M.F is bound to be a thrash classic in time. Just appreciating the pace here, and the insane solo from Gary, is enough. It’s short but sweet.

Slipping Into Madness starts off with a very nice, groovy vibe. Then the pace comes in and it becomes thrash. This seems more tamed, if you like, but that’s not bad. It’s an enjoyable contrast across the tracks. There’s a really cool section where the guitar and bass have a call and response thing going, and it sounds amazing. This is just before the solo comes in, and it sounds as if both men are soloing here, doing a phrase at a time before harmonizing. The chanting of ‘Slipping into madness’ in the chorus is so powerful as well.

Elitist has some of the best bass on this album, especially in that first verse! A reasonably short solo here, but it rocks. This is among the albums shorter tracks, clocking in at just under 4 minutes.

Prescribing Horror starts off very dramatic and ominous, with the use of the clean guitar and the church bells. ‘Discarded, deformed!’ can be heard as the first line of this track emerges, I mean, what an opening line. This is quite slow and melodic compared to the other tracks, which is rather nice really. This is Exodus showing us their versatility. Babies crying can be heard as this track fades out.

The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves) starts off very raw, almost like early Slayer stuff. The pace is fast here and the bass keeps the low end of Exodus thundering along. The chants here which contrast Zutro are very nice. The solo here is more groovy, which is kinda cool. This may be Exodus‘ shortest song yet, but it doesn’t go unnoticed.

The Years Of Death And Dying features heavily on the bass, especially towards the beginning, and I must say Jack Gibson has an astounding bass tone. The lead guitar in the chorus sounds great too. This track is a great way to open the second half of the album. The solo is quite interesting, being very virtuosic and experimental. It is also panned from one half to the other, which is cool. This is a decent length solo from the guys!

Clickbait has a really catchy chorus, with the clean vocals below the more coarse vocals, it works really well. The pace here is ridiculous, in true Exodus fashion. There’s a very technical solo here, and a decent length too, a fair amount of tapping incorporated.

Cosa Del Pantano is only just over a minute-long, and is an acoustic instrumental, which I love from the guys. It’s a really nice contrast from the tracks that bookend it.

Lunatic Liar Lord starts with a swing type beat, before the heavy guitars and pounding drums come in. The swing feel is kept through the riffs, though, especially in the chorus. This is a more laid back, melodic track (so far at least) and is an 8-minute epic, the longest track here. Around 4 minutes in, it picks up, delivering a mean transition riff before the solo kicks in. This is the best solo on the album in my opinion. The way it flows from phrase to phrase is just amazing, and the gap between solos also builds anticipation. The bass here, although it isn’t as prominent, keeps chugging away nicely.

Penultimate track, The Fires Of Division starts by teasing us with short bursts of guitar, before exploding into the high energy, fast-paced, thrash banger that this track is. The solo comes in after the first chorus, and it first very well, especially as the rhythm below it switches between the riffs already used, including the intro. The vocals are sounding very good here.

All good things must come to an end, and that’s where we are on closer Antiseed. It starts off slow, with the bass being quite prominent below the simple guitar riffs. This track takes a while to get going, and could possibly be shorter, but it’s not unlistenable. They more than make up for it once it does get going, though. The drums being very virtuosic is one of many reasons. The tempo changes here are completely controlled by the drums, and it works tremendously. In the build up to the solo, the use of triplets in the riff is something novel, and strongly welcomed. As I say to every Exodus solo, it’s amazing and skilful. It stops and starts a few times, allowing you to digest the previous phrase before more shredding ensues.

All in all, this is an incredible thrash album from the gods. If it were the big 5, not the big 4, Exodus would be the other band. My only criticism really was about the intro to the closer, which other fans may not even pick up on, but I mean come on, it’s Exodus. I’ve been following these guys for a long time, so I’m stoked to be writing this review right now and hope that this accurately reflects other peoples opinions when you hear this! Cheers!

(5 / 5)