Entertainment

Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: Exodus – Persona Non Grata (2021)

The JAR has spent a lot of time with classic bands who decided to take the time awarded by 2020 and retool an approach and try to recapture some old magic. How does the new Exodus fair? The JAR did love the old Toxic Waltz…

Published

3 years ago

December 5, 2021

Andrew Balaz

The JAR has spent a lot of time with classic bands who decided to take the time awarded by 2020 and retool an approach and try to recapture some old magic. How does the new Exodus fair? The JAR did love the old Toxic Waltz…

Now Exodus is an interesting band. Technically pre-dating most of the thrash bands of the 80s, they never quite broke through. Where Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax are the Big Four, Exodus was always clumped into the next pile. No there is no such thing as a Big 8 or Big 5, as much as people love Overkill, Death Angel, Testament and Exodus, you can’t just make crap up.

Exodus has been through more lineup changes than Megadeth, so that definitely makes each album a coin flip; especially when they’ve had four different singers. This lineup sees Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza stick around since 2014 on his third stint with the band. So if you like Zetro’s vocal stylings, this might fit right into your playlists.

Artist: Exodus
Album: Persona Non Grata (2021)
Label: Nuclear Blast
Total Track Time: 60:17

Persona Non Grata the titular song kicks off with quick double bass drum kicks, a ripping guitar and sets a very ferocious pace right off the bat. The lower growled vocals behind Zetro’s lead give things and interesting Mercyful Fate feel. Then we get a small bridge slowing things down a little, but the crunch and heaviness of the guitars feels more like a brief respite before breaking back out into a sprint. Plus the lyrics are great with the meaning of Persona Non Grata. Just talking about basically eating shit and being generally unwelcomed/unappreciated and using the person as a beacon of spite. The early fury, calming a little as the rage builds back and ending aggressive is a great way to flavor this song. Then we go into a sludgy Doom style riff with the layered screams of pain and hatred. This is a crazy clever song that most people can probably relate to. R.E.M.F. well talk about an interesting reference. R.E.M.F. stands for Rear Echelon Mother Fuckers, which is effectively a military term for someone who just kissed a lot of ass to get to the top. So it paints the picture of people that are unqualified deciding who and where the wars get fought. If you have a boss who just sucked up to the right people and have no clue what you do or what they’re really supposed to do, well then, they’re a Rear Echelon Mother Fucker.

Slipping Into Madness has a slower open. We get deliberate marching drums, a crunchy rhythm guitar and light lead that eventually picks up when the lyrics kick in. Now I love this line, ”Slipping into madness, Fire up the high – Slipping into madness, Just slip away and die”. There’s also a line about ground control has killed Major Tom. It’s a fantastically colorful way of lashing out against addiction be it from the streets or big pharma. And the light wahh’d out strum on the lead makes more sense to give kinda that dizzy slipping feeling in the music. I wasn’t expecting an Iron Maiden style double guitar solo, but it’s wonderful. Elitist well purely from the title, this is perfect for a primarily wrestling website now ain’t it? As for the song, it’s a cool driving song, feels more in the early 90s/80s vein of thrash, but the lyrics basically prove the title gives it away. Just a simple song about contempt for the rich elitists who just use and use and expect more. Simple doesn’t mean bad, and if anything; it’s a nice little palate cleanser after the last couple more complex songs.

Prescribing Horror now this starts off slow like a horror movie. Gentle cymbal taps, into a slow guitar, crashes come in when the crunch on the guitars gets heavier and we’ve got church bells to accent things as well. I really like this opening. OKAY, now they’re teaching people things. This song is about the Thalidomide tragedy in the 50s in West Germany. It was a drug that was released as something that could cure coughs, colds and headaches, but apparently was toxic to pregnant women. After just a few years of being released it was taken off the market after being responsible for thousands of birth defects and deaths either miscarried or after birth. So the song has a slow and haunting rhythm, cause damn that’s a heavy topic. Remember kids, knowing is half the battle. The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves) and now I got flashbacks to my grandfather purely from the title. But it starts out a little hokey, a recorded countdown, a siren and fun fast instrumentation. This feels a lot like Toxic Waltz and that’s not a bad thing. Especially after such a goddamned dark song, I like a little uptempo most pit stupidity. The lyrics might be a not so veiled commentary on the how the police dealt with riots in the last few years, but I’m choosing to just focus on the music.

The Years of Death and Dying this song is basically covid’s perspective on the pandemic. It’s really cool, it’s heavy, the chorus is a little awkward going into a bit of a spiral riff; but generally this is cool. Another Bowie reference when he claims “I turned Ziggy into stardust”. I also like how one of the major themes is that this has become out legacy, so it will live forever. Clickbait see and this song is why we don’t do clickbait garbage news on The Chairshot. Sheep will swallow it all but the smarter fans (which you all are) would just get offended by those trash tactics. Cosa Del Pantano is little instrumental with the Italian name for Swamp thing. It definitely has that bluesy Deliverance kind of vibe, so it works for what it’s supposed to be about.

Lunatic-Liar-Lord continues that bluesy southern riff from Swamp Thing and then thrashes it up. So they connect the two well. Lyrically I can see many basically saying this about the Trump regime, as to not assume anyone’s political leanings, I will argue that lyrically this is very applicable to many things in history. I like how the song picks up the aggression when it needs to, but the verses are punctuated with a slower distortion so nothing is lost. I can really see this song picking up steam because of how people want to interpret the lyrics, but they are generalized enough to not push anyone away, they are stinging without being obvious and the music accompanies it all really well. The Fires of Division a song about MATH! No-obviously it’s not. This is another well written song lyrically, because it’s right. Both sides have stoked the fires of hatred between everyone and with all of the stories of people disowning family over who they voted for or an opinion, the division isn’t because of just one side. The song isn’t as thrashy as most of the album, it definitely slows things down a bit. The rhythm guitar tries to gallop through to drive some Thrash, but this definitely feels more Seek and Destroy where it’s heavy and it fits the album, but it’s not Thrash.

Antiseed lyrically is a great way to end things being about indiscriminate slaughter and murder being the seed where everything dies. The antiseed where death grows. There is a really interesting rhythm lick that sounds southern rockish and bluesy. Between the guitar crunch, double bass and furious drumming, that little rhythm piece caught my attention. It just weaves into the song in an interesting way to add a weird peacefulness to violence harvesting more death.

So damn, that was a hell of a ride. Heavy, attacking, a little educational and songs about the last two years that don’t really take sides. Musically they stayed in that vein that many of the old school Thrash bands have since the mid-00s where it’s more heavy and crunchy as opposed to some of the goofy and fun nonsense like Caught in a Mosh, Toxic Waltz and Bored.

While I feel the first half is definitely stronger, that is by no means an indictment on the album. I will say it was smart of them to put politically charged songs toward the end, so if anyone got angry at the lyrics because they assumed the sentiment was against their own, they might already be invested in the album. Well structured, lyrics and music were mostly complimentary, Zetro sounded great and even though I never mentioned it, yes there was bass…this isn’t …And Justice for All. Just none of the bass licks struck me as hard as everything else. Damn good album, might be my favorite Exodus album to date. I should probably go relisten to Exhibit B just to be sure though.

Final Judgment: 8.45/10

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

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THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

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Entertainment

Mitchell’s Hyrule Puro-Resu News Report! (5/9/25)

June will be electric!

Published

2 days ago

May 9, 2025

Steven Mitchell

Prepare for the most electrifying even of the HPW calendar!

While the stage is set for Blood & Thunder 4 and the HPW World Trios Championships, HPW must also address the return of KAGE!

Thundra Plateau is ready.

Wrestling is Life, but life has its stormy weather. The rain is going to be hot in June, but will the reign continue through the Summer? The Dark Forces may have failed to take the Undisputed Triforce World Championship from Zelda, but they still have the World Trios Championships. Harlequin, Lupay & Glutko will step inside the double ring, double cage to defend their gold. On one side, Arrow Club’s special combination of Fin Balure, Torbevito & Bad Croc Scaly. On the other, a new combination of its own in Cia, Lana & Midna.

Speaking of Cia, Lana & Midna…

The three of them are together, dressed in workout attire, in what appears to be a dance studio. This is a collaboration stream for Midna and Lana as they’re both big presences on the internet, aka “influencers.” Lana and Midna wave and say hi, and they give introductions, including Cia, who is reluctant to be standing there. Cia doesn’t know why they need to do this. Lana says they have to improve their teamwork. They may have won against Los Taros Locos, but it was really sketchy there for a second. Midna adds that doing a dance routine together is great for their timing and coordination.

Cia says she didn’t mean that, she meant having to stream it! Oh, well obviously, combining Midna’s viewing audience with Lana’s, and HPW’s overall, this makes huge numbers! So? And huge money…! Cia raises her eyebrow and says, “Oh really?” The trio sets up, and Lana says obviously they first have to learn the steps. Midna brings up, “Wait, what song are we dancing to?” Oh, good point. Lana was thinking something from Lulu. Cia asks, “Lulu? From the Indigo-Go’s?” Midna says Lulu’s got a great solo album. Lana agrees! That’s so great that they like the same music. Cia isn’t as familiar with her solo stuff, so she’ll rely on them for this.

Lana suggests they go with Energetic Me. For one, it has the most energy, duh. And it still has a dance vibe, which is the whole point. Midna says she might’ve gone with Royal Discotheque or Ten Outta Ten, but she sees Lana’s point. Lana shows them the dance moves she has in mind. Left arm up, bent at the elbow, and the hand up against the side of the chest. Then they switch so the right arm goes up to mirror that position while the left hand goes back to the hip. Maybe add a little hip pop as that happens. Do that a couple times, and then turn to the right. This puts the left hand on the back of the hip, right hand on the back of the neck for a sexy pose.

Then you turn to flip it the other way, then do a 360 with a big neck whipping, hair flipping move. Then finish with feet apart and double V’s up by the eyes, maybe with a wink. Cia says, “Yeah, okay…” while Midna says, “I like it!” Midna says she’ll set up in the middle. Cia asks why Midna is in the middle, and Midna says it’s symmetry. She’s the tallest, Cia and Lana are about the same, it makes sense. Yeah, but it also means Midna is the center of attention. Well, that’s just coincidental. Lana says it doesn’t matter, the point is them doing it all in synch. Cia sighs and says, “Fine.” Midna is in the middle, Cia is on her right, and the music plays.

Left arm, right arm, left arm, right arm, pose to the right, pose to the left, 360 spin and neck whip, then double V. Midna nailed it, but Cia was lagging. Cia defends she was not, but Lana says it’s alright, they’ll just keep trying. They run through it a couple more times, they do tighten it up, and all three feel really good about how that went.

The Dark Forces are watching.

They aren’t impressed by the “little dance party.” Harlequin says the Faces of Evil are way better anyway. Especially with the classics like the Thriller dance and Macarena. Zant says, “The Macarena? Pfft, and people think I’m a dork…” Harlequin says, “Don’t you dare mock the Macarena!” Harlequin changes tabs on the computer and starts playing the song! After the introduction, he lifts his right arm up flat, then his left. Then he turns the right hand up, the left hand up, puts his right hand on his left shoulder, left hand on right shoulder, then moves right hand up behind his head, and then his left.

Now his arms crisscross, right hand on left hip and left hand on right hip, to then switch so right hand on right hip and left hand on left hip. And of course, he swivels his hips in one big circle to go with “HEY~ Macarena! AIGHT!” Zant rolls his eyes while Harlequin keeps going, jumping 90 degrees to his left. Ganon walks in, Ghirahim following behind, and he tells Harlequin to “turn that crap off.” Harlequin pouts but he does as told. Ganon seethes as he takes a seat in his big arm chair. “Needless to say… Wrestling is Life didn’t go how I’d hoped. What was Kage even doing there?! Did either of you have any idea he was going to betray us?!”

Zant and Ghirahim are a bit flustered. Zant isn’t even sure Kage was part of The Dark Forces at the time Ganon took ownership. He’d kinda gone rogue at some point, didn’t he? Ghirahim agrees, it didn’t seem like he was even aligned with Cia and the others. All the more reason for Kage to keep his nose out of Ganon’s business! If Kage cared about the Dark Forces, then he would’ve helped them fight back at HyruleMania, or any time since. Kage clearly just wants the title, same as Ganon, so he’s a dead man walking. Speaking of that… Where’s Kevin? He came back in April, why isn’t he here?

Somewhere dark and spooky…

Heavy footsteps can be heard echoing as Kevin Gibdo moves down the hallway. He speaks with a low, airy voice, “Majora… Your madness… spread like wildfire… You thought by setting me ablaze… I would crumble into ash… You were wrong! Instead, I have been purified…! Purged of flaws and weaknesses… I now come forth… as gold!” There’s a light at the end of the hall, and Kevin enters a grand hall, with treasure gleaming in the light. At the center is the sarcophagus. Kevin walks up to it, opens it, and then his burnt and tattered bandages fall away before he steps inside. The sarcophagus closes, then the eyes on it begin to glow… Then the entire thing glows!

The glowing becomes a shining light, and that shining becomes so bright that nothing can be seen. It is clear things between Kevin and Majora are not over. Will the Masked Monster even stand a chance once the Gibdo of All Gibdos is restored to full strength?

Back to the Dark Forces…

Shabonne says, “I’m sure Kevin is just fine doing whatever Gibdos do on their time off.” Tali says, “What matters is what I’m about to do to that tiny little weasel with the Goddess Championship. If The Dark Forces is gonna have all the gold, then I need to squash her like a bug and take that title off of whatever’s left!” Ganon nods and says he likes the initiative. Tali will start on her own Triple Crown as the Dark Forces will make Hyrule Pro-Wrestling their kingdom! The group cheers while raising a toast! And then Harlequin gets Glutko and Lupay to join in on the Macarena, to which Ganon groans and facepalms.

And so, the ThunderStruck card is set!

The double ring, double cage will rattle with Blood & Thunder as the HPW World Trios Championships are on the line! The Gerudo Ace looks to settle a grudge with the Hero’s Shadow! And now, the Million Rupee Championship and HPW Goddess Championships will also be on the line! Will the Dark Forces absolutely dominate the Summer? Be ready to endure the heat on Friday, June 20th!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Bandwagon Nerds

Bandwagon Nerds #287: Filling A Void

The Nerds review Thunderbolts*, check out the latest trailers, and celebrate Star Wars Day as only they can!

Published

6 days ago

May 5, 2025

PC Tunney

The Bandwagon is stripped down this week as Dave and PC Tunney helm the ship for a big week in the Nerdosphere. Naturally, we are covering Thunderbolts as Dave, Tunney (and the rest of the Bandwagon, for that matter) all saw the latest entry into the MCU. What was the consensus, and did the longest post-credit scene in MCU history push the Universe in the right direction? In other MCU News, we discovered why Hawkeye had no second season. From there, the guys head into the Trailer Park to look at the latest, including a sizzle reel for Netflix’s TUDUM event, Dwayne “The Rock ” Johnson’s latest movie, The Smashing Machine, and a very creepy look at Weapons. GTA 6 got delayed, again….but could that be a blessing in disguise? But this Episode was recorded on Star Wars Day, and to commemorate the event, Dave tries his best to convince Tunney to watch Andor, while Tunney tells Dave what he likes most about one of the most successful franchises of all time. All that, plus Dave tells you why The Last of Us is the best show anywhere on TV. Dave & Tunney cover a lot of ground in an action-packed episode of BWN, so make sure you tune in!

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PROWRESTLINGTEES.COM/TheChairshot – Makes a GREAT GIFT!!!

About Bandwagon Nerds

Join Patrick O’Dowd, David Ungar, PC Tunney, Rey Cash, and DPP as they keep everyone up on all things nerd and maybe add some new nerds along the way. It’s the Bandwagon Nerds Podcast!