Several 80's San Francisco thrash bands had successful careers and are fondly remembered, with Exodus being one of the best of the bunch. The band emerged in the early 80's, with early lineups featuring none other than Kirk Hammett, who was directly recruited by Metallica following that band's firing of Dave Mustaine. Their debut album, Bonded By Blood, is an undisputed thrash classic, and one of a handful of albums that would define American thrash for the next several years. Switching vocalists from the volatile Paul Baloff to Steve Sousa (who sang for Testament in their early days, when they went by the name Legacy), two more fine albums were released before the end of the decade, including 1989's Fabulous Disaster, which narrowly gets the BNR nod as their best album. Riding high on their success, they were awarded a major label contract with Capitol Records, but by then the scene had caught up to them. With a flood of like-minded thrash bands competing for space, Exodus was relegated to just another band, and their two Capitol releases, Impact Is Imminent and Force Of Habit, failed to generate the same fervor as their early works, and by the mid-nineties the band was done. A brief reunion with original vocalist Baloff happened in 1997, long enough to record and release the Another Lesson In Violence live album, followed by another break in activity. Finally, the band became active once again in late 2001, but just as they started gathering steam, they were struck by a tragic blow in Paul Baloff's death in January 2002. Former vocalist Steve Sousa returned to the fold to continue playing live in tribute to Baloff, and after a delay or two, the long-awaited comeback studio album, Tempo Of The Damned, was released in 2004. Very much a classic Exodus album, the album stays true to their roots with just enough progression to avoid the dated tag. To their credit, Exodus remains as relevant to the thrash scene now as they were back in their early days, a remarkable achievement in itself.