Exodus w/ Switchblade + Subtract

Californian thrash kings Exodus were all set to destroy some ears tonight returning to our shores from their last stop down under a few years ago. On this tour they brought along New Zealand band Subtract and Sydney locals Switchblade for the fun. My timely arrival left little waiting time before the show began.

The first band up was Subtract of Auckland New Zealand. It's surprising I had not heard of this band before, particularly since they have been going strong since the mid 90's. These guys had an awesome set of intense metal well worthy of an opening slot. The amount of excellent bands I have observed coming from New Zealand lately is awesome indeed, and Subtract make no exception to that.

Another Sydney band who have been making quite a bit of noise, and scoring some excellent support slots, is Switchblade. While this band was enjoyable to watch, and they had some really cool moments in their music, there were also a few things I didn't quite like about them. My excessive meticulousity[sic] aside, Switchblade played a solid set including a few tracks that can be found on their MySpace page. Well worth checking out.

As you can imagine, there probably isn't anything I could say that hasn't already been said about Exodus in their epic 30 year career as a band, and the fact that they are still going strong after all that time is a testament to itself.

Once they took to the stage, the fun began. Exodus were at the top if their game tonight, and extremely fun to watch. Front man Rob Dukes was having a great time, mimicking guitar solos behind guitarist Lee Altus and at times operating the effects for Gary Holt. At one point he even pulled out a guitar pick and did the strumming for Holt, while Gary held a beer high above his head. The sound of the venue was well suited for Exodus this evening.

Exodus played a good, long 15 song set - including personal favourites; Deathamphetamine, And Then There Were None, The Toxic Waltz and of course, Bonded by Blood. All songs were greeted well by the fans, with circle pits going during some tracks despite the venue's size.

Those who came out on this drizzly evening left impressed by the performance the bands put on, myself included. Dukes mentioned that they would return to Australia next year, and if they do happen to return, make sure you get out and see them!
 
Set List:

1. The Ballad of Leonard and Charles
2. Beyond the Pale
3. Iconoclasm
4. And Then There Were None
5. Children of a Worthless God
6. Piranha
7. Fabulous Disaster
8. Deathamphetamine
9. Blacklist
10. A Lesson in Violence
11. War
12. Strike of the Beast
13. Bonded by Blood
14. The Toxic Waltz
15. Good Riddance