Bonded by Blood

Bonded by Blood was originally titled A Lesson in Violence, but had its name changed when a suitable cover idea could not be found. An advance cassette copy of the album (with the original title) was widely distributed through the tape-trading network upon the record's completion late in the summer of 1984, creating an immense underground buzz prior to the official release of the LP. The release was delayed, however, due to problems with the artwork.[3]

The song "Impaler" was originally to be featured on Bonded by Blood, but it was abandoned when Kirk Hammett took the main riff with him to Metallica (it was used on "Trapped Under Ice").[4]

The original album cover art was an illustration of good and evil conjoined twin infants. For the 1989 reissue this cover was replaced with the band logo on a red and black image of a crowd. The album was remastered and re-issued by Century Media in 1999 in Europe only, with two live tracks from its Combat re-release in 1989, featuring Steve Souza on vocals. This reissue from Century Media restored the original twin cover artwork.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Metal Forces	10/10[5]

Bonded by Blood received a positive review from Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic, who states: "Had it been released immediately after it was recorded in 1984, Exodus' Bonded by Blood might be regarded today alongside Metallica's Kill 'Em All as one of the landmark albums responsible for launching the thrash metal wave" and adds that "Exodus were left to wonder what kind of impact they may have had without these setbacks." Rivadavia also described Bonded by Blood as "an album whose influence far exceeds its actual notoriety, and it remains a crucial piece of the thrash metal puzzle – essential."[2] Bernard Doe of Metal Forces in 1985 defined it "a classic album in the thrash metal sense which is sure to be sneered at by the unconverted and mainstream media."[5]

In 2013, Bonded by Blood was ranked number 8 on Whatculture!'s "10 Greatest Thrash Metal Albums of All Time",[6] and was ranked number 80 on Metalrules.com's 'Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums'.[7] In August 2014, Revolver placed the album on its "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own" list.[8] The album was ranked number one on Loudwire's top ten list of "Thrash Albums NOT Released by the Big 4".[9]

In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Bonded by Blood as 45th on their list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[10]

Thrash metal revival act Bonded by Blood named themselves after the album.

All music is composed by Gary Holt, except where noted.

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[11]