EXODUS — Impact Is Imminent (review)

EXODUS — Impact Is Imminent album cover Album · 1990 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Impact Is Imminent" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Exodus. The album was released through Capitol Records in June 1990. It´s the successor to the band´s most commercially successful release "Fabulous Disaster" from 1988. There´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as original drummer Tom Hunting has been replaced by John Tempesta.

"Impact Is Imminent" continues the raw and energetic thrash metal style of "Fabulous Disaster (1988)", but either the band didn´t have enough time to write catchy material before entering the studio or they had just run out of ideas, because the songwriting on "Impact Is Imminent" pales in comparison to the songwriting on the predecessor. Sure there are the occasional killer riff or a catchy vocal phrase or chorus featured on "Impact Is Imminent", and it´s by no means a badly composed album, but it´s still a far cry from the sheer class of "Fabulous Disaster (1988)".

Unfortunately the same goes for the quality of the sound production, which is not on par with the high quality production job on "Fabulous Disaster (1988)". Exodus have gone for a more raw and authentic sound, but "Impact Is Imminent" ends up sounding a bit thin. I realise I sound a bit negative, and when compared to the predecessor that´s also fully warranted. It is Exodus we are dealing with here though, and of course even their lesser releases have an overall standard that´s higher than most contemporary releases. They are simply put a class act.

So even in my most negative hour I am not going to rate "Impact Is Imminent" low. It´s still a quality thrash metal release featuring razor sharp riffs and blistering leads, powerful rhythm work, and Steve "Zetro" Souza´s distinct sounding raw vocals in front. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
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UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I never really liked this one much. But I always think Exodus made great albums, and then...some more standard quality ones, and this one belongs in the latter catagory.
Vim Fuego wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Thin? Maybe now, but at the time I thought this was about as heavy as guitars got without becoming death metal. And then I heard Exhorder...

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