So at noon last Wednesday I received a Facebook message from Alonso Donoso, singer of Iowa metal band Dark Mirror saying he might have a ride lined up for me to go see his band and Exodus play in Waterloo, Iowa, at Spicoli's. The venue is the new home of The Reverb formerly in Cedar Falls.
I dropped my plans and went on the road to watch some metal and I was not disappointed by thrash legends Exodus.
They played many songs off "Atrocity Exhibition Exhibit A" and the previous albums "Tempo of the Damned" and "Shovel Headed Kill Machine", seeing as those better suit vocalist Rob Dukes, who has earned his spot in the band by this point in time.
As for the older stuff Bonded By Blood was heavily represented, with the band playing "Bonded By Blood", "Piranha" and many more. They also played "Fabulous Disaster" off the album of the same name.
The band seemed to really enjoy themselves, despite the fact that they are now playing at venues with stages much smaller than they must have in the 80's. If I had to make a rough estimate, I would say around 125 people were at the show. These guys certainly aren't doing it for the money now. They just love to play.
Gary Holt and Rob Dukes could be seen smiling and playing up the crowd. The only member that looked a little worn out was guitarist Lee Altus (of Heathen fame, but he still performed well.
The band ripped through the songs and the crowd seemed to especially get wild during the "Bonded By Blood" stuff. Rob Dukes vocals can still be a little grating, but then again, so could Paul Baloff's. And things wouldn't be right if they weren't!
All in all a good high-energy show by one of the greatest thrash bands of the 80's.
Here is a recent video of Exodus performing "Iconoclasm" off of "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" live:
exodus - iconoclasm
Iowa's true metal band, Dark Mirror, also put on a damn good show and I was pleased to hear some new songs from the forthcoming album "Forever Young" hopefully due out in a few months. "Karma" had some ripping solos courtesy of new guitarist Dustin "Blitz" Creagan and "From the Ashes" was another good new one. The band ended the set with the required song "Dark Mirror".
Warbringer put on a hell of a show as well, despite the replacement of their drummer with the second guitar player due to a broken arm. They are a band that has a ton of energy live and sound better there than they do on record!
If Exodus rolls into a town near you, make sure to show some love and check them out.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
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