Bonded By Blood - Exiled To Earth

I have to question the thought process that goes into naming a band after a classic album by another band. I mean, if I were in a young, upstart thrash band, the last thing that I would want people to do is think about Exodus’s classic 1985 release right before listening to my album for the first time. I know that that is exactly what I think of every time Bonded By Blood’s name comes up. Really though, the important thing here is the music, and if it is good enough it won’t matter what the band is named or what you thought about before you put the album on.

Bonded By Blood are of course a retro thrash band, focusing on thrash’s more serious and aggressive side. This isn’t the party thrash that bands like Municipal Waste and Gama Bomb are cranking out. What you get is straight up thrash metal that most closely compares to the heavier thrash bands of the mid to late 80’s. Think Vio-Lence, Exodus and Heathen and you will have a pretty good idea of the style. I don’t necessarily have a problem with bands resurrecting older styles of metal, the thing is that if you are going to do something that has been done so many times before, you had better get all of the little things right.

Bonded By Blood are a very skilled group of guys; Exiled to Earth is loaded with classic thrash riffs and some of the lead guitar work is quite impressive. The band is tight, and the album sports a razor sharp production that is a good match for the style. As is often the case though, the devil is in the details as they say. For all of the skill on display here, Exiled to Earth is severely wanting for stand out tracks. It seems almost like there are too many riffs in most of the songs. This causes a lot of the material to blend together, and simply not stick with the listener after the music stops. I have mixed feelings about the vocals on Exiled to Earth as well. Lead vocalist Jose Barrales is sort of a classic thrash vocalist, in that he doesn’t really grunt, growl or even sing. You get that sort of half sung, half screamed type of vocal that so many bands in the 80’s were using. Oddly, Barrales’ vocals remind me of Vio-lence’s Sean Killian. While I have personally always like Killian, he has to be one of the most polarizing vocalists in thrash, and perhaps not the best role model for an aspiring thrash singer. I do like the liberal use of gang vocals, and combined with Barrales’ lead they give the album a very authentic feel. 

Bonded By Blood really nail exactly what they seem to be going for in a couple of spots. “Poison Planet” is a driving, in your face song with a nice memorable chorus. Another stand out, “Sector 87“, has an interesting extended intro that builds into a nice thrashy groove. Tracks like this illustrate this young band’s potential, but also demonstrate the very slim margin for error within this style. The thin line that separates these tracks from the others shows that these guys are maddeningly close to making a great thrash album.

Exiled to Earth is solid thrash, but when doing something that has been done so many times before, solid just isn’t good enough. For Bonded By Blood to stand out in this genre, they are going to need to either make a great album or start adding something more original to the mix.  Vocalist Jose Barrals left the band after recording this album, and I think that finding the right replacement will be crucial to the band’s development.  Regardless, Bonded By Blood are a good young band and seem more than capable of raising the bar with their next release.

Release Date: August 10th, 2010
Label: Earache Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  600 AB (After the Bomb)
2.  Episodes of Aggression
3.  Prototype: Death Machine
4.  Prison Planet
5.  Genetic Encryption
6.  Blood Spilled Offerings
7.  Exiled to Earth
8.  Parasitic Infection
9.  Desolate Future
10.  Sector 87
12.  Cross-Insemination

Total playing time: 42:08

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Reviewer: Garett

December 16, 2010