in memory of Exodus vocalist Paul Baloff (1960-2002)

Paul Nicholas Baloff (April 25, 1960 – February 2, 2002)

A wild screamer if there ever was one, Paul Baloff's thrash metal stage performances inspired many young metal fans in the Bay Area. Ridiculous and intense at the same time, his only album with Exodus remains a fan favorite to this day. If you listen to Exodus' Bonded by Blood and Metallica's Kill 'Em All, you'll notice that they share the same genre, sound, style, and feeling; these two albums represent similar music made by two different bands, both drawing from the same sources of inspiration. Unfortunately, Paul was too immature and undisciplined to transition into a professional vocalist who could sustain a living from his art. To me, Paul seemed like an immature man-child who had gotten out of control with his behavior and drug addiction, unable to function seriously for Exodus.

Exodus always knew that Paul was the right man for the job if he could ever figure out how to act like an adult and be professional. For this reason, the band kept giving Paul second, third, and fourth chances to grow up. Unfortunately, he could not rise to the occasion, and it always ended with Exodus firing him. What's worse, it seemed that every time Exodus gave him another chance, they ended up in a worse place than before, having been set back even further due to the time wasted on giving him more opportunities. At least that’s how it feels when you study the trajectory of Exodus.

Of course, there must have been other problems that the band members and record labels have never revealed. For example, why did it take so long for the debut album to come out in 1985? By that time, their West Coast peers Metallica and Slayer were well on their way to commercial success and had moved beyond the local California underground. Why did Exodus not get their album released by Metal Blade Records or Megaforce Records? I wonder if the album, like many metal albums, contained lyrics that were deemed too graphic or stupid, given that some of the lyrics on the album are beyond stupid.

At any rate, on that Exodus debut album, Paul delivered a performance that thrash fans have remembered for decades. Below you will find the Wikipedia biography on Paul, along with a very interesting Blabbermouth interview that sheds light on the problems that Exodus faced, as well as the issues that Paul ultimately caused for the band.

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From WIKIPEDIA: Paul Nicholas Baloff (April 25, 1960 – February 2, 2002) was an American singer, best known as the original lead vocalist of the thrash metal band Exodus. He was fired from Exodus shortly after the release of the band's 1985 debut album Bonded by Blood, which is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time. He sang with various other bands before rejoining Exodus in 1997. Baloff died of a stroke in 2002.

Baloff was born in Highland Hospital in Oakland, California. His mother was Dutch, and he was of partial Russian descent. In life, he would spread rumors that he was a Russian immigrant under the birth name Pavel Nikolayevitch Balchishkov, and that his parents were "rocket scientists" who fled the country, creating what bandmates later called his "unofficial folklore."

Formation of Exodus (1981–1983): Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett and Baloff met at a North Berkeley house party in 1981 and became fast friends due to their shared admiration for punk rock and the new wave of British heavy metal. Baloff joined Exodus in 1982 as lead vocalist to complete the lineup, which included Hammett, guitarist Gary Holt, drummer Tom Hunting and bassist Geoff Andrews.

Bonded by Blood and firing (1984–1997): Exodus recorded their first album Bonded by Blood in the summer of 1984. Audio engineering college student Mark Whitaker, who had attended high school with Baloff, oversaw management and record production for the band at the time. 1984 concert photos from Exodus shows at Aquatic Park's Eastern Front Metal Festival (with Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies) and Ruthie's Inn (with Megadeth and Slayer) were included on the album sleeve inserts. Originally titled "A Lesson in Violence", the album was not released until April 1985 amidst creative and business setbacks.

Shortly after touring for Bonded by Blood, Baloff was fired from the band for "personal and musical differences", although he still had writer credits on their next album, Pleasures of the Flesh. He was replaced by Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had previously been the lead vocalist for Legacy, an early incarnation of Testament. Baloff went on to form the band Piranha. He sang in several bands in the San Francisco Bay area including Piranha, Hirax, and Heathen.

Return to Exodus (1997–2000): After a few dormant years of Exodus' extended hiatus, Baloff briefly reunited with Holt and Hunolt to reform Exodus in 1997. They released a live album titled Another Lesson in Violence. The group disbanded again shortly after, in part due to a falling out with record label Century Media over the way the live album was promoted, and over an aborted attempt at a live concert video that was filmed but never released due to a financial dispute.

Exodus' second reformation and death (2001–2002): In 2001, Exodus reformed once again. There was talk of recording a new studio album and the band continued to play local shows in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. In February 2002, Baloff had a stroke that left him in a coma, and he died after being removed from life support. He was 41 years old.

Former vocalist Steve Souza was recruited back into the band to finish the rest of their concert commitments. Although it appeared to outsiders that with Baloff's death, Exodus would cease to exist, guitarist Gary Holt was determined to release a new studio record. The result was 2004's Tempo of the Damned, which is dedicated to Baloff's memory.

Legacy: In October 2008, Exodus released a re-recording of their 1985 debut album Bonded by Blood entitled Let There Be Blood. Gary Holt released the following statement about the band's decision to revisit their debut album: "After many years in the planning and discussion stage, we have finally completed the re-recording of 'Bonded By Blood'. We have decided to call it 'Let There Be Blood' and it is our way of paying homage to [late singer] Paul Baloff by showing how relevant these songs we had written together still are. We aren't trying to replace the original; that's impossible anyway. We are just giving these songs the benefit of modern production. It's something we talked about before Paul's death and it's always been important to us to do. We were super excited about entering the studio once again to record these classics, and now it's back to writing the next studio record!"

On February 4, 2012, a Paul Baloff Memorial Reunion Concert was held at the Oakland Metro Opera House. Former and current members included Kirk Hammett, Rick Hunolt, Gary Holt, Geoff Andrews, Lee Altus, Rob Dukes, Tom Hunting and Jack Gibson. It was the first time they have all played together since 1983.

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Former EXODUS Guitarist RICK HUNOLT On Firing PAUL BALOFF: 'It Could Have Been The Biggest Mistake We Ever Made' November 10, 2022 (BLABBERMOUTH)

In a new interview with For The Passion Not The Fashion, ex-EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt reflected on his former band's decision to fire original singer Paul Baloff in 1986 due to what at the time was described as "personal and musical differences." Paul was replaced by Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had previously been the lead vocalist for LEGACY, an early incarnation of fellow Bay Area thrashers TESTAMENT.

Rick said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH): "Paul was… He wouldn't work. He was gettin' bad on the drugs. We all were, but Paul was probably the worst. And we were at a point in the band… It was so tough. It was the craziest thing, it was the hardest thing I ever did, the hardest thing we ever did. And I don't even know today, at this point… It could have been the biggest mistake we ever made. I don't know. No one will know. But I'll admit that — it could have been the biggest mistake we ever made. Who knows?"

Hunolt continued: "Zetro was great filling in; he was great. He did a good job. But after we let Paul go, he just fell deeper and deeper into his addiction and everything. Basically, he was homeless. He wouldn't get a job and he wouldn't stop doing what he was doing. We had to let him go. It was just to the point where it was getting so bad that he couldn't do anything. He couldn't remember lyrics. It was just bad.

"But I'll be the first to admit… I always try to think of what would have happened to EXODUS if we kept Paul," Rick added. "I don't even know. I don't even know if he would have been able to sing any of the music off of [EXODUS's second album, 1987's] 'Pleasures Of The Flesh'. I don't know.

"Anyway, that was the toughest decision me and Gary [Holt, fellow EXODUS guitarist] ever had to make. It was horrible."

Regarding Souza's addition to EXODUS, Hunolt said: "Not everybody's gonna like him. He's done a great job. He's had his ups and downs. But I think right now he's doing great. I think on [EXODUS's latest album] 'Persona Non Grata' he sounds better than he ever has."

Although Baloff didn't appear on "Pleasures Of The Flesh", he did record a demo in 1986 featuring three songs that made it to the final album: "Seeds Of Hate", "Pleasures Of The Flesh" and "Braindead". You can hear those recordings below.

Hunolt previously touched upon EXODUS's split with Baloff in November 2021 when he spoke with Heavy Culture about why he thinks his former band failed to achieve the same commercial heights as the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal, namely METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX. He said: "First of all, we were just kids. We couldn't even buy alcohol. We were super young and just crazy, full of crazy energy. We recorded the album, 'Bonded By Blood', and it took forever and ever and ever and ever for it to come out — it took forever. So that really messed us up in the world. SLAYER, METALLICA and EXODUS — we were all there at the same time, we all had albums ready to be released, and, of course, ours was last one [to come out] because of record company craziness. So, the follow-up ['Pleasures Of The Flesh'], losing Paul was super tough.

"I think that when anybody… A good example if 'Van Halen I' — to this day, everybody compares everything that they've done after 'Van Halen I' to 'Van Halen I'. Same thing that we've been dealing with for 30 years — everything that we do after 'Bonded By Blood' is gonna be compared to 'Bonded By Blood'. So there's always gonna be people that say that, 'No, no, no. Nothing will ever be as good as 'Bonded By Blood'.' And then there's gonna be people that say, 'Yeah, their stuff after that is good too.' It's always gonna be that way. We have no control over it.

"Hiring a new singer and putting out 'Pleasures'… And then we had to wait another year for 'Pleasures' to come out; it was, like, another year for 'Pleasures' to come out. So that was like a double… '84, and then we waited till… 'Pleasures' came out, what, '86 or something? Late '85? So, people were just waiting and waiting and waiting. And we're sitting there going, 'G****** it.' It was a lot of pressure. Meanwhile, we got METALLICA and SLAYER and ANTHRAX now on board releasing albums every year. And we're just slowly but surely losing traction. It was tough. But **** happens. We were just kids. We didn't know anything.

"I think losing Paul was a big deal back then," Hunolt added. "I think that maybe we made a mistake by firing Paul. And this is just looking back on everything for me; this is just my personal thought. This is the stuff that I think about sometimes. What would have happened if we didn't fire Paul? I just think that maybe we would have gotten a little bit more traction if we didn't have that lag in between.

"People love Paul. And Paul was… he's a legend. He was going through a bad time in his life, and I guess, at the time, we felt that maybe he was holding us back; I think probably that's what we were thinking. I think that probably we might have thought about getting him better instead of firing him.

"But as far as the 'Big Four' goes… Well, I don't know… Maybe it should just be the 'Big Five.' I will say this: I think that everybody has their place in the old-school thrash. If you wanna give 'em a number or whatever, go ahead. I think it doesn't mean anything. I think that the people that were there and the people that love our genre know where everybody stands. And I know where we stand, for sure. Without EXODUS, I think that thrash metal would be very, very different."

Hunolt makes a guest appearance on "Persona Non Grata", which was released in November 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records.

The San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' latest disc is the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was their first release since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Longtime EXODUS fans will recall that Hunolt — the other half of the famed EXODUS "H-Team" who is on every studio recording from 1985 through 2004 and co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs such as "A Lesson In Violence" and "Deliver Us To Evil" — left EXODUS after the band's highly acclaimed 2004 reunion album, "Tempo Of The Damned". Following his departure, Hunolt was replaced by HEATHEN guitarist Lee Altus.

The original lineup of EXODUS consisted of guitarists Hammett and Tim Agnello, Hunting and vocalist Keith Stewart. Holt joined the band in 1981, while Kirk left two years before EXODUS's debut album, "Bonded By Blood", saw the light of day.

Exodus – Live Combat Tour (1985 Full Concert | 4K/Remastered)