Kyle Thomas,
Jay Ceravolo,
Chris Nail,
Vinnie LaBella
Formed: 1986, New Orleans, LA
Disbanded: 1994
Genres: Rock
Representative Albums: "The Law," "Slaughter in the Vatican," "Slaughter in the Vatican/The Law"
Biography
Formed in the late '80s out of a common interest in speed and doom metal, Exhorder helped shape the "Louisiana sound," a common sound shared between many metal bands from the state. By crafting chugging, tight riffs with a rigid structure, Exhorder made quite the local impression with 1990's Slaughter in the Vatican. Although dismissed by some because of the title and front cover, the album paved the way for Pantera's Cowboys From Hell and helped turn the thrash genre into a new direction. 1992's The Law did not have the same effect, and the band eventually split because of the direction vocalist Kyle Thomas wanted to take the music. He went on to form Floodgate with his brother, while guitarist Jay Ceravolo formed Fall From Grace. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
Exhorder was formed in 1985 in New Orleans, Louisiana. After releasing several demos in the vein of pure thrash metal, they started to adapt more of a groove metal-oriented sound with their debut studio album, Slaughter in the Vatican, released in 1990. This sound was further developed by their second (and to date last) album, The Law, released in 1992. The band dissolved later that year.
Reunion (1998-present)
Exhorder reunited for several reunion gigs in 1998,[citation needed] 2001,[citation needed] and 2003[citation needed] in New Orleans. On May 9, 2008, it was announced that the band had reunited and had begun writing new material.[1] As of that day, the band's official myspace page contains the reunited group's lineup as well as the headline "writing new material for the return of Exhorder"[2] They played thier first reunion show on 14 November, 2009 at Southport Hall - Jefferson, LA. They will also play on 12 December at CITY CLUB in Houma.
Several elements of Exhorder's debut could potentially explain its lack of commercial success in relation to Pantera. In disagreement with the opinion that Exhorder is "Pantera minus the good songs," AMG's review of Slaughter in the Vatican expresses that "perhaps a more accurate billing would be to call them Pantera without the major label backing." They also point to the fact that the title of Exhorder's debut, along with the unsubtle album cover, "certainly didn't help [its] cause any."[3] Exhorder lead vocalist Kyle Thomas has stated that he does not care about any of the criticism and is sick of seeing Exhorder's name tied to Pantera's. He also stated that he and some members of Pantera were friends, and that he mourns the loss of Dimebag Darrell.[4][5] Recently, Thomas suggested that while it is possible Pantera may have been influenced by his band, the members of Pantera "work[ed] a ... lot harder than [they] did."[6]
