Bonded by Blood is the debutstudio album by the Bay Area 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 their record label. It is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time. It is also the only full-length studio album of Exodus to feature Paul Baloff on vocals, though he was also on their 1982 Demo. Baloff was back in Exodus for five years, and appeared on their 1997 live albumAnother Lesson in Violence. 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 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. 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.
Bonded by Blood received a positive 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." Bernard Doe of Metal Forces in 1985 defined it "a classic album in the thrash metal sense which is sure to be sneered at by the unconverted and mainstream media." In 2013, Bonded by Blood was ranked number 8 on Whatculture!'s "10 Greatest Thrash Metal Albums of All Time", and was ranked number 80 on Metalrules.com's 'Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums'. In August 2014, Revolver placed the album on its "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own" list. The album was ranked number one on Loudwire's top ten list of "Thrash Albums NOT Released by the Big 4". In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Bonded by Blood as 45th on their list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Thrash metal revival act Bonded by Blood named themselves after the album.
Track listing
Personnel
Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.
