The Grinning Sadist Presents . . .
Impact is Imminent
Capitol Records (1990)
Grade:  C-ou
Impact is indeed imminent for these bay area thrash stalwarts.  It seems as if the band that brought us the thrash metal classics Fabulous Disaster and Bonded by Blood – not to mention a slew of other strong releases – has smashed into the brick wall of a creative glut face first with this mediocre release.  And although no one has tweeked with the formula to any great extent – Hunolt and Holt still lead the charge with their innovative guitar interplay while Steve Souza has once again squeezed his tubby thighs into those embarrassingly unattractive, skin tight black pants to do his best poor man’s Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth – the album only seems to hit with a monotonous thud.

Perhaps the album title is appropriate.  Few things have more of a negative impact on me than repetition (which is why the vast majority of industrial music is expendable in my book) and the tunes from Impact is Imminent just bleed together like the violent blurring of a Jackson Pollack painting.
 
Maybe there are those few flashes of earlier glory overshadowed by the majority of the album, but they allude me.  And while I would not dub this release worthless, I would label it average, and average is a judgement not usually reserved for a band like Exodus.  So if you are unfamiliar with Exodus and wish to introduce yourself to them, don’t do as I did and fork over 99 cents to Columbia House the next time the CD hits the clearance bins.  Start off on the right foot with the band by starting somewhere earlier in the band’s illustrious career, and you will more than likely see this album for what it is, not definitive but an unexpected misfire.
 

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