‘Persona Non Grata’ is the 11th album from Exodus, and it’s been an unusually long break from their last release. Fortunately, the seven-year absence hasn’t blunted the band’s talent in the slightest.
Before we get into what makes this album so good, let’s start with the already released singles. “Clickbait” and “The Beatings Will Continue” are the most straightforward songs from the album, so in that regard, they make sense as singles. Unfortunately, they’re also the two most boring songs on the album, drawing on the kind of generic thrashy songwriting we’ve all heard hundreds of times before. Since their reformation and the brilliant ‘Tempo of The Damned’ Exodus have shown us they shine most brightly on their longer tracks. The titular “Persona Non Grata” and “Lunatic Liar Lord” both clock in at over seven and a half minutes and, to me, prove this theory once again. There aren’t many thrash bands who can keep tracks this long pulsing forward with momentum and varied enough to be consistently interesting, but Exodus manage this with aplomb.
One other thing quickly becomes apparent; this is the heaviest Exodus album featuring Steve ‘Zetro” Souza. Exodus have never followed bands like Megadeth and Metallica down the path of stripping away their thrash roots for mass appeal. Still, they have displayed varying levels of focus on either catchy hooks or crushing heaviness. This may be a controversial thing to say for a band that started in the ’80s, but ‘Persona Non Grata’ may have found the best balance of the band’s career. Every member of the band gets a chance to shine here, but it’s drummer Tom Hunting who really holds things together. It’s all too easy for a talented drummer to dominate an album, but Hunting gives room to the other musicians while providing the driving force just when it’s needed. While few tracks here match the visceral intensity of “Bonded by Blood”, this album feels like it takes the best parts of Rob Duke’s era and blends it in a way that, for the most part, fits Souza’s vocal style. That “for the most part” is an important point, though.
While Souza gives some of the best performances of his career on ‘Persona Non Grata’, there were a couple of moments where the music and vocal delivery don’t quite mesh. A couple of lines in “Prescribing Horror” and “Elitist” don’t quite hit right and sound like they could have used a couple more takes to perfect. With that being said, it’s not enough to damage the experience much. Still, they are noticeable and distracting, especially when on the same album as tour de force performances seen on tracks such as “The Fires of Division” and “R.E.M.F”.
‘Persona Non Grata’ may be the most balanced album Exodus has ever made instrumentally. There are a few occasional missteps with odd vocal delivery and overly familiar songwriting choices, but not enough to prevent this album from being essential listening for any thrash fan.