Exodus were THE HEART of The Bay Area Metal Scene. Yeah, Metallica were the headliners but they also weren't originally from The Bay Area. Exodus were fucking 100% local! East Bay, motherfuckers! Long story short: Exodus meant ALOT to Umlaut back then and I spent ALOT of time at their gigs, hanging out with them, drinking with them, and just being METAL with them. Paul Baloff was a brother and Gary Holt is still a brother. When Bonded By Blood came out it meant more to alot of us than Kill 'Em All did simply because we'd spent so much time with Exodus leading up to the album. We were brothers AND sisters... bonded by blood.
Click HERE to see Umlaut's treasured memories of those METAL times. Yeah, and for the record, at least a couple of Umlaut's old photos are featured in the original Bonded By Blood packaging and I am honored to have my name in the liner notes.
Trivia: Umlaut was at the show that inspired the song 'Bonded By Blood'; it was at one of Exodus' many shows at Ruthie's Inn in Berkeley. During the show people had put drinking glasses on the stage and when Exodus commenced their mayhem some of the glasses were broken. As a result, people had their hands and arms cut on the broken glass and the front of the stage soon had blood smeared all over it. Then Baloff instructed the crowd to "sacrifice a poser" to him... and the crowd obliged by throwing some hapless kid onstage who landed at Baloff's feet. So, now when you read the lyrics to 'Bonded By Blood' appreciate how it was inspired by actual events... and also realize how pussy most Metal shows are here in the 21st Century.
Bonded By Blood probably sounds dated to alot of kidz here in the 21st Century who are into processed blast beats and who can get ANYTHING from their fucking computer keyboard. I simply hope people appreciate that Bonded By Blood is a time capsule from a time when Metal was still innocently underground (before Hair Metal changed the way the mainstream perceived Metal) and when it was also truly violent... and we (band and fans) were all just stupid pimply-faced kidz having fun. It was a time when you really had to WORK to be a Metalhead... to find that new band's demo... to find that band's new 7" single... to get to a show... and, to quote Exodus, to fight for what you believe to be right.... to crush with all your might... and to laugh at their pitiful cries. Hope I die before I get old.
HAIL Exodus... HAIL Bonded By Blood.... Rest In Peace Baloff.
Black magic rites on this black evil night
Begin with the slice of the blade
Metal and blood come together as one
Onlookers they gasp in dismay
Taste the sweet blood of one another
Sharing without any greed
Bang your head as if up from the dead
Intense metal is all that you need
Murder in the front row
Crowd begins to bang
And there's blood upon the stage
Bang your head against the stage
And metal takes its price
Bonded by blood
Metal takes hold death starts to unfold
It's loud like the worlds at an end
You're in a blood fury the metal won't stop
Onlookers they bang at command
Cutting your palm and drinking your blood
The power that few others dare
You feed the need to go out and kill
The same need that your blood brother shares
Murder in the front row crowd begins to bang
And there's blood upon the stage
Bang your head against the stage
And metal takes its price
Bonded by blood
