EXODUS — Pleasures of the Flesh (review)

EXODUS — Pleasures of the Flesh album cover

Album · 1987 · Thrash Metal

3.5/5 · 2022-01-31
UMUR

"Pleasures of the Flesh" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Exodus. The album was released through Combat Records in October 1987. It´s the successor to "Bonded by Blood" from 1985. There´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as lead vocalist Paul Baloff has been replaced by Steve "Zetro" Souza.

"Pleasures of the Flesh" opens with "Deranged" and right off the bat the listener is exposed to the same kind of aggressive and raw thrash metal as the band played on "Bonded by Blood (1985)". New lead vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza has a snarling raw delivery and fits in perfectly. The longer you get into the album the less interesting it gets though, and the material on the 10 track, 46:19 minutes long album struggle to live up to the high quality and instant catchiness of the material on "Bonded by Blood (1985)". There are several great tracks on the album, so it´s definitely not all bad, but there are also some pretty unremarkable tracks featured on the album.

Another sinner which doesn´t help the material to shine is the sound production, which is pretty weak. Especially the drums are placed low in the mix and feature a rather odd lifeless sound. If you´re familiar with Tom Hunting´s drumming performance and the drum sound on the predecessor, it´s hard not to be disappointed by how the drums sound on "Pleasures of the Flesh". It´s like it´s a completely different drummer playing on the two albums.

There are also positive elements to be mentioned, and one of them is the inclusion of the occasionally more melodic oriented vocal lines and guitar melodies, although the music is still predominantly raw and thrashy. In that way "Pleasures of the Flesh" is a more diverse album than "Bonded by Blood (1985)". But upon conclusion "Pleasures of the Flesh" is a step down from the high quality of the debut album, and there are a couple of weak elements (particularly the sound production) which are the cause of that. Overall it´s still a quality thrash metal release though, and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

To me Exodus albums have always been a bit of hit and miss. I like the debut and especially Fabulous and Tempo, and I like some of the Dukes-led albums too, but there are albums that I don´t find that interesting, and that includes this one. It´s not bad (as my rating also suggests), but it´s not an album I´ll put on for listening enjoyment at home.

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I disliked this album for such a long time, but I love it now. It's not as good as the albums either side of it, but not many albums are.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I love this album much better than the debut with those clown vocals :D

But actually i love newer 21st century Exodus much better than any of these old albums. THey sound so dated now.