Review Of The New Exodus Album "Goliath".
Band Name: Exodus
Album Title: Goliath
Tracklist:
3111
Hostis Humani Genris
The Changing Me
Promise You This
Goliath
Beyond The Event Horizon
Two Minutes Hate
Violence Works
Summon Of The God Unknown
The Dirtiest Of The Dozen
Running Time: 54:09
Release Date: March 20, 2026
Rating: 8/10
Label: Napalm Records
Version Reviewed: Digipak CD
Band Members:
Gary Holt - Guitar
Rob Dukes - Vocals
Lee Altus - Guitar
Jack Gibson - Bass
Tom Hunting - Drums And Backing Vocals
Additional Vocals On The Changing Me By Peter Tagtgren
Additional Album Info:
Produced by Exodus
Recorded At Trident Studios
Engineered By Juan Urteaga
Mixed And Mastered By Mark Lewis
Addiction Tracking By Mark Lewis At ML Studios And Jesse Floren At Crow Keeper Studios
Cover Art By Par Olofson
Strings On Goliath By Katie Jacoby
Exodus has been a part of my life almost since the day I first got into heavy music. I mean, they were part of (if not the first) thrash metal band out there. My first Exodus album was “Pleasures Of The Flesh” and I got it when it came out. So, a long damn time ago! Because that was my first experience with the band, I have always had a fondness for that particular band lineup. Steve “Zetro” Souza will always be my favorite Exodus vocalist, and he is my second favorite thrash vocalist, closely behind Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth. I guess I like vocalists that have a middle name in quotes! When Rob Dukes came into the band the first time, I didn’t like it. Steve was gone. I was sad. I didn’t like Rob’s vocals, It sounded like Rednexodus to me. Steve came back into the band, and I got to see them live in Detroit for the first time and Steve was there! I was happy. But he’s gone and Rob is back again. I decided to end my ban on Rob Dukes Exoodus albums and give their new album “Goliath” a fair shot. Did I like it? Read on to find out!
Right off the bat, track one starts off with the trademark thrash Exodus is known for, and honestly, it sounds a lot like the early albums. This is the fastest the band has been in decades. Gary Holt’s trademark riffs are something that is always amazing regardless of what vocalist they have fronting them. You hear one second of his playing and you know it’s him. He plays some great solos and leads here too. As I’ve grown older, I have become a big fan of the bass guitar on metal albums. So much so I bought a bass guitar and amp and am taking lessons. I just love that low end bass sound. Will I ever be as good as Exodus bassist Jack Gibson? Fuck no! But I have fun with it. HIs playing here is phenomenal, and his bass sound is huge and very in your face here. Longtime Exodus drummer Tom Hunting hasn’t lost a beat, pun fully intended. “Goliath” is full of songs that will remind you of the 80’s metal scene and make you glad that Exodus is still around making such crushing music. Everything is not perfect on the album, though. Tracks 8 and 9 are rather bland and boring. They’re skippable actually and without these two on the album the album would have been a 10/10 for me. Thankfully the last track on the album is great and makes it so that the album doesn’t end on a bad note. Pun again, fully intended. On the title track the band used some string instruments and it makes that track sound really epic. Now for Rob Dukes. I have to apologize to him. When he came into the band the first time, I was younger and pettier. I didn’t give him a chance simply because he wasn’t Steve. His vocals on here rule. Do I like them as good as Steve’s or Paul’s? No. But I do really like them, and at times Rob has a bit of that insane sounding sneer that Steve has, so why the hate from me? I was an asshole, that’s why. Sorry, Rob. You’re great and I need to go back and finally listen to the other albums you were on. Yep, I didn't even listen to them! I was that pissed! The lyrics are about various topics like drug cartels, hate, insanity and madness and more. For me, I really love the lyrics to “Beyond The Event Horizon” as I am really into astrophysics. The title track is about a huge entity that feeds on human doubt and fear, and he uses that to try to destroy us all. Well, that’s not very nice, is it? The sound of the album is great due to an excellent mastering and mixing job.
The cover art rules and shows Goliath in a big city feeding on the humans he despises so much. He has one human in his hand and is feeding it to a sharp-toothed mouth in his other hand. Goliath’s body is covered in sharp protrusions and he just looks pissed. I mean, why wouldn’t he? He’s a Goliath. He is Goliath! I love the color scheme and the cover of the digipak folds out to show another half of the artwork. I always love when they do that to album covers. This artwork reminds me a lot of Jack Starr’s Burning Starr’s “The American Way” cover art. Look it up, it’s very similar except that the Burning Starr cover art shows people in a city running away from a meteor or asteroid crashing into Earth. Two totally different styles of music, though. Inside the ten-page booklet are all of the lyrics and band/album information as well as some cool as hell creepy drawings of all of the band members.
This is a very worthy Exodus album. There is a reason they are still around after forty-seven years. The talent in this band is impressive, and I feel we’ll see plenty more of their albums in the years to come. If you are like me and disliked Rob all these years, give him a chance with “Goliath”. He may surprise you!
As always, I like to ask my readers to support the bands, labels and artists by purchasing the physical copies of the albums you love or by going to their Bandcamp and/or Facebook pages and supporting them there.
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