We’ll get this out of the way early. Did Pantera deliberately try to sound like Exhorder? According to singer Kyle Thomas, “maybe.” Thomas would also say there is no real animosity between himself and Phil Anselmo. After all both men come from NOLA, both men share a similar palette of influences, and both men fronted two of the heaviest metal releases in the year 1992. However, as Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power went on to further shape metal over the course of the next decade, Exhorder’s sophomore effort was tragically lost in the shuffle of a changing landscape.
Despite the claim by many that groove killed the thrash star at the turn of the 90’s, I dare to argue that the former did more to preserve and modernize what was already becoming a stagnant genre of metal at the time. Many thrash releases early into the decade, such as Sepultura’s Arise and Overkill’s Horrorscope, had planted seeds of what was to come. However, I can’t think of many albums that exemplify the bridge between worlds better than The Law.
From the album’s opener, entitled Soul Search Me, the diabolical guitar tones set in right away before Thomas’s gruff, bark-like vocals reinforce the frontal assault that doesn’t let up until the after the album’s closer. Like the band’s debut, the singing is violent, the riffs are aggressive and the drums pound you into the earth’s crust with piledriving force.
Unfortunately, by the second track do we already notice The Law’s overarching problem which is undoubtedly its production. The guitars are eating this album alive to the extent that the bass is completely buried at times. Slaughter in the Vatican’s production, while not perfect, was a bit more accented whereas the distortion on The Law is so thick that Vinnie LaBella’s amplifier might as well be flush up against the side of your skull even with your best pair of headphones on. Although not the worst thing to happen to a metal album, the oppressive tones can wear you down quick.
Luckily the songwriting makes up for it on tracks like Un-Born Again where the funk bass adds a bit more flava’ to the mix. The distorted guitars work in favor of the album’s Into the Void cover which will no doubt appease even the stingiest Sabbath fan with doom-plated thrash action. Faster songs like The Truth see the band returning to the high speed devastation that defined their debut, complete with plucky string interludes harkening back to the golden age of 80’s thrash.
Slow and brutal at times, fast and face-melting at others, this album has a lot to offer a wide range of metal listeners. Certainly not perfect, but to not see the charm in The Law is to brush off the most fundamental elements that make metal so enjoyable. Is the album heavy? Hell yes it is. Will you bang your head to it? Abso-freakin-lutely. For many of us these are the two prerequisites for having a damn ball. If you want something more dynamic that will open your third eye or whatever, you may want to look elsewhere. Exhorder is here for smash-mouth aggression, which they unarguably do better than most.
Recommended Tracks:
Soul Search Me
I Am the Cross
Un-Born Again
Into the Void
