#damage plan

He was such a an important figure, extremely talented, and an inspiration for millions.

He was left slumped over his guitar, the feedback from the amp still ringing.

Killed. Just like that.

Exhorder: The Law (1992)

Here it is, kids: arguably the best Pantera album recorded by a band other than Pantera.

As many of you know, Exhorder’s 1992 sophomore LP, The Law (and its predecessor, Slaughter in the Vatican, for that matter), bear an uncanny resemblance to Pantera’s concurrently released Cowboys from Hell and Vulgar Display of Power, and there was absolutely zero coincidental about it!

While there’s no way to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt (and, as we know, history is written by the victors), this New Orleans’ quintet are widely credited with establishing the fundamental groove metal blueprint (smudged by southern sludge) that their nemesis subsequently perfected and rode all the way to the heavy metal big leagues.

Not only were Kyle Thomas’ enraged roaring and self-empowering lyrics absolute ringers for fellow N.O.L.A. native Phil Anselmo, but Vinnie LaBella and Jay Ceravolo’s muscular, molten lava rhythm guitars likely contributed to Diamond Darrell’s transformation into Dimebag Darrell. 

Though I will say, knowing that inspiration can also be a two-way-street, that The Law’s blood-red cover art sort of looks like cross between Pantera’s I Am the Night (1985) and Power Metal (‘88) albums.

Meaning that the jury is still out (and probably always will be), but it doesn't take a musical genius to realize that both bands were mining a very similar vein at exactly the same time -- one that saw the brutal values of thrash and death metal honed to a groove-oriented, bluntly focused approach. 

And Exhorder's second LP showed marked improvement over their flawed debut; pushing the boundaries of their aggressive sound so as to radically broaden their dynamic and melodic range, without losing touch with its core elements. 

Prime examples included the title track, “Soul Search Me,” the alternately thrashy and sludgy “Unforgiven,” and “(Cadence Of) The Dirge, ” all of which employed a dizzying array of neck-snapping starts and stops with the monolithic force of a “Primal Concrete Sledge” -- oops! 

But Exhorder weren’t averse to trying new things, so while the tangled riffs of “I Am the Cross” recalled prog-thrashers Dark Angel, the elastic guitar licks and slap-bass of “Un-Born Again” fell in with countless other bands (Mordred, Mind Funk, Saigon Kick, Faith No More, etc.) that were flirting with the short-lived funk metal craze of the time.

Yet the most conspicuous number here was Exhorder’s surprisingly faithful rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Into the Void,” which stands in stark contrast to the mold-breaking, risk-taking experiments all around it, but was likely requisitioned for that very reason by the good folks at Roadrunner Records. 

All of the above made The Law a valiant effort that would go down as a minor extreme metal classic of the early ‘90s, and yet it still couldn’t prevent Exhorder from breaking up a short time later, no doubt feeling robbed (and they wouldn’t be the last) by their old friend Anselmo as Pantera shot to fame.

But this wouldn’t be the last fans heard of singer Thomas, who went on to front the excellent (if short-lived) Floodgate, before joining Chicago doom gods Trouble, then southern fried stoned rockers Alabama Thunderpussy, and finally helming a partial Exhorder reunion for 2019’s Mourn the Southern Skies album.

p.s. -- Some of these words evolved from my All-Music Guide review of The Law.

This Day in Metal

Feb 10th 2004 #Damageplan released their debut album "New Found Power" #Explode #Crawl #SaveMe #BreathingNewLife #HeavyMetal #DimebagDarrell

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