This review is only a teaser! We received the four song CD maxi EP for "War Is My Sheppard"; the first single off of the forthcoming Exodus release, "Tempo of the Damned". If the new material on this EP is any indication of what's to come, then we are in for a real treat!

The last time Exodus reunited was in September of 2001, when they came to the aid of Testament's Chuck Billy for the "Thrash of the Titans" benefit show. Shortly after the benefit, Exodus begins working on new material for another album and were starting to play more shows again until tragedy struck the band. On February 2, 2002 lead vocalist Paul Baloff suffered a stroke, which would ultimately takes his life. The rest of the band felt the need to continue on and brought back vocalist Steven "Zetro" Souza.

As a result, the new material sounds more powerful and more intense than ever! "Tempo of the Damned" will be the first studio album since 1992's "Force of Habit". The production is very similar to that on Testament's "First Strike Is Deadly".

The new track, "War Is My Sheppard", is fast and aggressive. Even Zetro's vocals sound more like that of Death Metal at times. The music seems like it's been tuned down an octave or so. The twin guitar attack still has that punchy and compressed sound. The drumming still plays a major part in the intensity of the music.

Another new track, "Sealed With A Fist" is an angry song in the vein of "Toxic Waltz".

"Impaler" is the next track. It's actually an older Exodus song that was originally done with Baloff but never made it to album until the live "Another Lesson In Violence" album came out back in 1997. This version is a bit slower than the live version, but still kicks ass! I'm glad they finally released a studio version of this killer track!

The last track is cover of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap". Not bad to hear a classic rocker metallized! This is the second AC/DC cover song Exodus has done. The first was "Overdose" from the "Fabulous Disaster" release.

So there you have it! A small sampling of what's to come. "Tempo of the Damned" is scheduled for release around February 2, 2004. I can't wait!