First, a little history. Exodus, perhaps most famous for having Kirk Hammett leave them for some other band that some of you may have heard of -- Metallica, was one of the first Bay Area Thrash bands. Another link to a more impressive Bay Area Thrash band is that Steve Souza, the band’s second vocalist, was originally in Testament back when they were still called The Legacy. The band’s career was well storied in the late 80s -- having released an arguable classic on their debut -- but after 1992 they fell into disrepair. After a 5 year hiatus, they released a live album with original vocalist Paul Baloff. This group disbanded again only to reunite in 2001 for a tour where they laid plans for a new album. It never happened as Baloff died of a massive stroke in January 2002. Souza rejoined the band and Exodus toured as a sort of tribute to Baloff throughout 2003. They finally got their “poop in a group” and released Tempo of the Damned in 2004.

Machine Head, perhaps most famous for including Robb Flynn – now Robert Flynn – formerly from one of the leaders of the so-called Second Wave of Bay Area Thrash with the band Vio-Lence, were immensely popular in the mid-90s almost single-handedly thanks to Slayer dragging them around the world as their hand-selected opening support act. After an excellent post-Thrash debut album, and its follow-up, that combined the crunch of Pantera with the technical ferocity of old school Thrash, the band strayed into Nü-Metal territory for a few albums before realizing this was a dying trend. Phil Demmel, the other former Vio-Lence axeman, joined the band first as a touring guitarist but later as a full-fledged member and kicked his old chum squarely in the ass proving that there’s nothing wrong with real Thrash in 2003/4. The band released Through the Ashes of Empires in Europe in 2003 and it finally received a stateside debut in 2004.

On the one hand, you have a storied Thrash band that started out rather strong but then suffered a string of setbacks owing to the band breaking up now and again perhaps due to just the hardships of life. On the other hand, you have a second generation Thrash band that started out rather strong, too, but then suffered a series of setbacks due to poor choices in musical direction and not too dissimilar line-up inconsistencies. Through it all, both bands have persevered in one way or another, and experienced different levels of success. Regardless, they both released highly anticipated albums in the spring of 2004. Exodus fans eagerly awaited the new album solely for the fact that this would be the band’s first studio recording in a dozen years. Machine Head fans were abuzz due to the reported absence of Nü-Metal tendencies and a return to what made the band exciting on their debut. Both Exodus and Machine Head have succeeded in this ‘comeback.’ Sorta.

Tempo of the Damned. At least two songs here were meant for Gary Holt’s post-Exodus band Wardance [“Throwing Down” and “Sealed with a Fist”], and one appeared on the band’s 1997 live album [“Impaler”], but the writing is largely self-consistent as if most of this album was composed at once. The opener -- “Scar Spangled Banner” -- shreds right out of the gate as an ode to America and war. This is followed by another bellicose anthem, “War is My Shepherd” and you know you’re in for a real Thrash album based on back to back songs about -- what else? -- war. Otherwise, arguably the band’s first “single” -- which is played on the Music Choice Metal channel -- is entitled “Shroud of Urine” and is *shock* an anti-religion piece. The play on words can be seen as clever or as infantile. This writer is not sure which, but the song kills. The rest of the album’s ten songs include another anti-religion piece in the titular track and some standard Thrash fare regarding being wronged, moving along with your life, and even death.

Andy Sneap [yeah, that guy] did a killer production and mixing job and all the parts are here: crystal clear guitar tone, articulated drums, rumbling bass [think of the bass on all those classic Thrash albums from the mid-80s], and vocals that are just right in the mix. This is a very solid listen at 54:35 in playing time. My main complaint, however, is that some of the songs are simply too long and thus lose a bit of their impact. As good as the first song is, it could be improved by being a minute and a half [or two] shorter. “Forward March” is waaay too long in the tooth at 7:38 and is even reminiscent of the opening riffing style on the oft-mentioned first song. If you like Thrash, this is what you have been waiting for since, oh, 1990, probably. There are honest-to-(insert deity of your choice) killer leads on this recording. A very solid 8 out of 10 [if some of the songs were shorter, it would have definitely earned a 9]. This will definitely “bang the head that does not bang.” Rest in peace, Paul Baloff.

Through the Ashes of Empires. Album opener “Imperium” sounds like a hybrid of Master of Puppets-era Metallica and Vulgar Display of Power-era Pantera with the signature Machine Head sound throughout, of course. The first guitar sounds heard are perhaps even reminiscent of Down, but this is definitely a Thrash song. Typical Thrash vocals are prevalent throughout the album, but Flynn mixes in some singing and rapping that is almost Nü-Metalesque in nature, perhaps suggesting that he clings too closely to the band’s more recent and less successful output. It is almost as if he is trying to maintain his ~Nü-Metal fanbase while reliving some Thrash glory days. If this is the case, well, I suppose he is doing exactly that. The Thrash riffs are just that: killer Thrash riffs. The use of dynamics, e.g. the hard-soft juxtaposition that Machine Head has always used, is commendable, if not fully appreciated. “Bite the Bullet” with its harsh/clean vocal trade-off sounds almost country during the clean parts, but is not exactly terrible.

Some of these lyrics appear to be virtually rehashed Pantera songs. In fact, a lot of these songs would not sound completely out of place on the Damageplan album, like the U.S. bonus track “Seasons Wither,” although these are just better. While the good parts are very good, the bad parts are pretty bad. Flynn’s clean vocals are varied from track to track but do not translate well overall. It appears that he is now cashing in on the trend of bands like Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall. The production was handled by Flynn himself and the album mixed by long-time collaborator Colin Richardson. The sound quality is exactly what is required and expected of Machine Head’s finer moments. Everything is clear and very well done. Sometimes this reveals an inherent weakness, though. While this is primarily a Thrash album, it has enough non-Thrash parts to keep non-purists interested. If you think you have heard this before, you may very well have. At an overly long playing time of 59:46, this gets 6.5 out of 10.