Customer Reviews

Pleasures of the Flesh

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of my all-time-favorite 80's thrash records. This record came out in 1987, right in the middle of what I consider to be heavy metal's finest period (roughly 1985 to 1989). I think what makes the record is Tom Hunting's drums, which is not surprising since all great metal (especially thrash) albums feature a great drummer playing in top form. Rhythmically, Hunting's style is pretty straightforward. It reminds me a lot of the guy from Destruction (who's name escapes me right now). In fact, although Exodus is an American band, they very much have that German thrash sound, a la Destruction and Kreator.

Besides the drumming, "Pleasures of the Flesh" contains plenty of great guitar riffs that propel the music along. Songs like "Brain Dead" almost have a Scott Ian quality and make me want to do the Milano Mosh. "Faster Than You'll Ever Live to Be" is also a favorite. Some reviewers have been down on singer Steve Souza. This is ridiculous. Souza is an awesome singer with a totally unique sound, and he writes excellent lyrics as well. He's one of the few metal lyricists who can write socially conscious lyrics without sounding totally silly (although many of his lyrics have nothing to do with social consciousness).

I would absolutely recommend "Pleasures of the Flesh" to any fan (or potential fan) of 80's thrash/speed metal, especially German-style thrash. It is a favorite of mine that gets plenty of listening time.

Exodus is the most underrated thrash metal band of all time--at least in my opinion. They started out promising and darker than Metallica and Slayer. However, after Fabulous Disaster they got too goofy and weird. Eventually they drifted away into oblivion. Nonetheless, they're back. And although this review is not about their return, it's still good to now that this album was monumental in the uprising of Exodus. This album is a classic, and it is a requisite for all thrash metal fans. Like their previous effort, Bonded By Blood, every song is full of vigor, energy and pure brutality. Rarely is there a band that puts high energy to every song in their album.

When Exodus first came out with "Bonded By Blood", I was really impressed.."Pleasures of the Flesh" hit the stores and I was hooked!! "Brain Dead" offers one of the best riffs in speed metal to date. All of the songs get a standing ovation!!!

When I listened to this album I thought Metallica who? Pleasures of the flesh, along with bonded by blood were and still are among the greatest albums in metal music. The song writing effort by Gary Holt and Exodus is just incredible! this album has it all! The song topics and lyrics on pleasures of the flesh are also innovative.. I recommend this album if you love classically influenced speed metal, I have got to say, bravo! A guitar junkies dream...

Yes,we all know megadeth,metallica,anthrax and slayer are known as the ''big 4''of thrash metal which they deserve because they were some of the earliest(and admittedly the best)of the bunch,but I believe a lot of their reputation stem from overall popularity and record sales.Exodus of course were around as long ago as these others(metallica got kirk hammett from them).They deserves as much recognition as these others;holt and hunolt are/were two of the best guitarists imaginable with great riffs,solo's and song structures.As for the''pleasures of the flesh''album it's a great follow-up to the classic''bonded by blood''debut.The insane riff and opening monologue of album opener''deranged''is all you need to hear to understand how good this disc is.I noticed that the drum tracks were produced seperately and by another person than the rest of the album and they have a plastic sound to them and this is my only(slight)complaint about this great disc.I'd also like to point out that back in the day I was(and still am)a big fan of original vocalist paul balloff but in hindsight I can say that zetro souza was the better singer.So there!Thrash 'till death!

3 1/2 stars would probably be more accurate. While not quite on par with their "Bonded By Blood" or "Fabulous Disaster," "Pleasures of the Flesh" is still a good record.

I did miss Paul Balioff's vocals, but Souza has his own good style. It would improve over time, and especially on the eventual "Tempo of the Damned."

Getting back to the subject at hand, 'Deranged' is creepy words with no music; 'Till Death Do Us Part' is a high point that expresses "Exodus's" refusal to sell out. (And in my opinion, they never did.) 'Parasite' is another high point. 'Brain Dead' is listenable. 'Faster Than You'll Ever Live To Be' is alright. 'Pleasures of the Flesh' starts off with some jungle sounds and has some great guitar work. '30 Seconds' is a nice instrumental with a good classical sound. 'Seeds of Hate' has some notably strong guitar work. There is a frightening realism to 'Chemi Kill' that explores the hypocrisy of politicians. 'Choose Your Weapon' ends the record on a high note.

I can't quite put this on the same level as their "Bonded By Blood," "Fabulous Disaster," or "Tempo of the Damned." However, it is still a great record that any "Exodus" fan should have.

New vocalist, new year, coming off the EXCELLENT Bonded By Blood, Paul Baloff (Vocals on that album) decided to make a side project called Pirahna, that being said, Steve "Zetro" Souza (Ex-vocals for the band Legacy) which was the band that turned out to be the almighty Testament, joins on this album, and does a great job, he has a very distinct voice, kind of reminds you of Bon Scott (Which he was influenced heavily by old Bonny!), first, let me get this off my chest, this album is VERY underrated, it was overlooked for some reason...I never understood that, anyways, the musicianship on this album is even BETTER than on Bonded By Blood, not taking anything away from Bonded By Blood of course, a great album, but the music is tighter on this album, everything is perfect, because on Bonded By Blood, if you noticed, the solos never followed the riff beneath, I know it's hard to understand, but listen to it, and then listen to this, a total difference, but it made Bonded By Blood and this different, which is what different albums are meant for right?, the production is pretty good for 1987, the riffs on this album are just mind blowing, along with the solos and drumming, like I said, everything is right, the lyrics are cool too, especially on Deranged, and Chemi-Kill, some of it is alot like Bonded, some is not, some songs were written by Baloff, and some not...that would explain the difference.

Deranged 5/5, A very fast, catchy opener, love the spoken intro by Tom Skid

'Till Death Do Us Part 5/5, A mid-paced song with a cool chorus

Parasite 5/5, Starts off with a buzzing sound, kind of clues you in on what you're in for, it's a fast paced song, with cool riffs

Brain Dead 5/5, A nice slow/grooveish song, very catchy, DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN kind of riffs

Faster Than You'll Ever Live To Be 5/6, CLASSIC song, it's fast paced, but with a very cool lead, makes it very catchy and killer, cool lyrics

Pleasures of the Flesh 5/6, This song really can't be explained, you HAVE to hear it, just listen to Holt and Hunolt trade off on the solos! KILLER!

30 Seconds (Which is actually 40) is a nice acoustic break in the album, kind of works as an intro for Seeds of Hate

Seeds of Hate 5/5, another cool song, Zetro kind of sounds like Ozzy in some spots, wicked solos!

Chemi-Kill 5/6, A VERY cool and catchy song, starts out kind of mellow, but kicks in, cool lyrics too

Choose Your Weapon 5/5, A very nice closer, a song about war obviously, nice riffs being thrown around in it

Well, a classic album is at hand as you can see, a very underrated one at that, it got overlooked by many, and deserved more than what it got, now is your chance to hear this underrated thrashclassic, it's got riffs, melody, fury and great vocals, if you're a Metal fan, even if you're not, check this out, the musicianship is out of this world, you can tell they worked alot on this album, if you're new to Exodus, I would suggest something newer before this though, like Fabulous Disaster, but if you're new to 'em, you might try this for your first, I can't speak for everyone, so you might like it, come on people, let's see more than 15 reviews for this classic!

Before this band became weak they put out some damn good albums, this one being my favorite. The songs don't all sound the same, like bonded by blood. The singer Steve Souza (original singer of Testament, known as Legacy then) is a welcome addition, Unlike Bustaph who jumped from Pirahna, to Heathen to Pigs, Steve "Zetro" Souza stays for the long run. Tracks that stand out are Chemi-kill, Seeds of Hate, and Parasite. However please note there is not a single poor song on this album.

I was looking for this cd (along with Risk's "Hell's Animals" & Destruction's "Cracked Brain") for years, unfortunately it was out of print. Now I found it, and without a hassle, I ordered it. The only thing I don't like about this album is that the opener song is not flashy as the rest. In this album, yet, you may find some Exodus (also Thrash in general) classics, like "Braindead", "Till Death Do Us Part" and "Chemi-Kill". Though, my favorite song is the title track, as it contains neverendingly beautiful harmonies, guitar duets, excellent drum work and *the raw feelings of humanbeing*. It also contains baroque-style guitar etudes ("30 secs"), shredding riffs ("Parasite") and weird'n fine songs ("Choose Your Weapon" & "Seeds Of Hate"). This album has another important feature as well, Steve Souza's first appearance in the band IMHO, this is Exodus' best and the end of all *cracked* drummings in Thrash industry. You want the real thing? Get this!

Exodus' 2nd release was even more deadly than BBB, sporting a more razor sharp production than it's predecessor, and the snarling, venomous performance of then new vo-kill-ist Zetro from Legacy. Those who pan the production or the mid-paced-ness of this album is not really "listening" thoroughly to this thrash classic. POTF personifies the evil genius of Exodus, who definitely honed their skills to create something much more sinister and malevolent. After the opening monologue by some nutcase (supposedly a real person off the streets of SF was brought into the studio), Deranged will simply rape your eardrums with it's tight, pounding thrash riff, and when that solo drops in...LOOK OUT! The next crusher is Parasite, what a stomping, galloping thrash riff on this one by the H-Team, after the buzzing of insects, Zetro spits these lyrics out with extreme hatred, the solo drops in with a nice, sounding melodic solo, only to be followed by some major destruction by Gary and Rick. The next stomper is Faster Than You'll Ever Live To Be, a thrash ode to the Old West that will seriously rip-yer-face-off, this is bare bones thrash at it's finest, totally raw, and stripped down (again, probably due to the production). The title track is absolutely magnificent, opening with some tribal voodoo drums as an intro, the then into a snake-like riff, then followed by one of the most intense thrash riffs you'll ever hear, PURE EVIL! The solo part in the middle is amazing, Gary lays the smack down, then they change up the main riff a little for Rick to solo over, and then back to the main riff. The song closes with one of those "race-to-the-end" kind of endings with Gary throwing in yet another solo, the good old days when those mattered! Up next, Seeds Of Hate, one of Exodus' most experimental tracks up to this point, including some Middle Eastern sounding parts to add to the evil atmosphere of the lyrical content, and this was back in '87, my friends! What I like best about this song, is the outstanding guitar war by the H-Team, especially that one hairy run towards the end by Gary, incredible! The album closes with one more bruiser, Choose Your Weapon, more of that stripped down thrash sound from Faster Than You'll Ever Live To Be, that also comes to a blistering finish. This is one classic that will leave you exhausted after listening to it, just as it did back in 1987. I didn't mean to leave out 'Til Death Do Us Part, Brain Dead, 30 Seconds or Chemi-Kill, they are just as vital as the rest of the cuts, and are no slouch, either! It's kind of sad that Exodus probably didn't get the reaction (or the sales) they wanted with this album. I think they went back to the drawing board, and unfortunately came up with a thrash album that was more accessible in Fabulous Disaster. An album with which they subsequently got signed by Capitol. Please go back, and listen to this classic, I've heard the remaster, and they've vastly improved the drum sound on it. I saw Exodus twice on the FD Tour, and ironically they only played 'Til Death Do Us Part, Brain Dead, and Chemi-Kill...what a shame that even Exodus themselves failed to realize the vicious classic they made in POTF, and instead really pushed the more "commercial" Fabulous Disaster (which had an inferior, muddy production compared to POTF). I'm not a FD hater, that album is certainly good for what it is, being the last decent release until Tempo Of The Damned. Why Gary poo-poo'd on POTF in interviews upon the release of Fabulous Disaster is beyond me, plus Gary Holt's guitar tone and even his lead guitar style was never the same after POTF!