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.
Exhorder are often credited with having created the groove-oriented thrash metal sound that was copied and popularized by Pantera. The band is either more or less indifferent to such sentiment as they were friends with Pantera and were saddened by the passing of Dimebag Darrell. However, they do not deny the possibility of them having influenced Pantera's sound even though Kyle Thomas has stated Pantera deserves the praise they receive as he feels Pantera have always worked much harder than Exhorder ever did at being successful.
Members:
Vinnie Labella - Guitars
Franky Sparcello - Bass
Kyle Thomas - Vocals
Jay Ceravolo - Guitars
Chris Nail - Drums
Legions Of Death
Exhorder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Coming to retrieve the human forms
Black cloak rider, force of sin
Mission to destroy white magic's kin
Curse their holy souls
In fire they will die
Good comes to an end
High priests pray to their one above
But the winged beasts of evil kill their loved
Phantoms of eternal hell watch on
As darkness slays, light's now gone
Lives of earthen tame
Torn to shreds alive
Taken by the blade
Laughing at their cries
Evil stalks the lives of men, they can't be saved
Hapless victims falling hard to meet their grave
Terror reigns, insanity lives in human fear
Blackened world, malicious souls, hell is here
Specters hunting freeze you with their hateful eyes
Luring victims to their death, petrified
Sacrifice to lord of evil, glorified
For merciless onslaught, all must die
City lies in flame as troops march on
Pillaging and plundering from dawn till dusk till dawn
Turing the earth into eternal fire
Legions of death will leave you crucified
The lyrics of Exhorder's song Legions of Death depict a horrifying and violent vision of a battle between good and evil, with dark forces of Sheol riding on a storm to retrieve human forms and intentionally kill those who practice white magic. The song speaks of a world where evil is stalking the lives of men, terror reigns, and the darkness has engulfed the light. The high priests pray to their one above, but the winged beasts of evil kill those they love, creating a blackened world of malicious souls where the lord of evil is glorified.
The song is a reflection of humanity's dark side and the constant struggle between good and evil in the world. The dark, bone-chilling imagery and the fierce music written by the band provide a disturbingly powerful experience for the listener. The lyrics emphasize the ultimate fate of men, who are taken by the blade, torn to shreds, and left crucified. The lyrics suggest that the battle between good and evil rages on, and the forces of darkness will ultimately prevail.
Line by Line Meaning
Warriors of Sheol ride the storm
The army from the underworld is coming with great force
Coming to retrieve the human forms
They are coming to take human souls
Black cloak rider, force of sin
A rider dressed in black symbolizes evil and sin
Mission to destroy white magic's kin
Their goal is to eliminate those who practice good or white magic
Curse their holy souls
The souls of those considered holy will be damned
In fire they will die
They will suffer in the flames of Hell
Good comes to an end
The time for good has expired
Steal the power from their eyes
They will rob their victims of their power and hope
High priests pray to their one above
Religious leaders send their prayers to God
But the winged beasts of evil kill their loved
The evil creatures they fear will destroy their loved ones
Phantoms of eternal hell watch on
Demons and monsters from Hell observe the destruction of humanity
As darkness slays, light's now gone
The darkness has eliminated all that is good or light
Lives of earthen tame
Humans are easy to control
Torn to shreds alive
They will be brutally murdered
Taken by the blade
They will be killed with weapons
Laughing at their cries
Their tormentors will find joy in their pain
Evil stalks the lives of men, they can't be saved
Humanity is doomed because evil is always present
Hapless victims falling hard to meet their grave
Innocent people are dying tragically
Terror reigns, insanity lives in human fear
People are terrified and losing their minds
Blackened world, malicious souls, hell is here
The world is now dark, and evil has possessed people
Specters hunting freeze you with their hateful eyes
Ghosts and apparitions will paralyze their prey with a look of hatred
Luring victims to their death, petrified
Their attackers trick them into their demise, where they become stiff and unresponsive
Sacrifice to lord of evil, glorified
The murderer's killings will be seen as offerings to a demonic entity, and they will be praised for it
For merciless onslaught, all must die
Everyone must die due to the unstoppable, savage attacks
City lies in flame as troops march on
The enemy is advancing, and the once-thriving city now burns
Pillaging and plundering from dawn till dusk till dawn
They will take everything of value as they destroy everything else, night and day
Turning the earth into eternal fire
Their destruction will seem endless
Legions of death will leave you crucified
Everyone will face a painful and tragic fate
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHRISTOPHER FELTON NAIL, JAY PATRICK CERAVOLO, KYLE DANIEL THOMAS, VINCENT CHARLES LABELLA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rusty Kuntz
How these guys have remained largely overlooked all these years later boggles my mind. Unbelievable hardcore THRASH METAL!
51BillyZahn50
Phil anselmo sounds like Kyle Thomas. My dad's friend grew up with kyle and these guys sounded like this back in '86 before pantera even touched anything outside of power metal. Plus Phil moved from new orleans to texas so I would say that these guys definitely influenced pantera's sound eventually.
T£Rminal R€duX
Exhorder sounds more thrash though and are better than pantera
Justin Harvey
Phil was also good friends with the guys of Exhorder -the influence that the latter had on Pantera is obvious.
Ben Potaka
It's no secret Phil took that sound into Pantera, he was from New Orleans so it goes without saying, he was more successful because of the way things were at the time, and that Pantera had a following already, he just wanted to bring the fire of NOLA into the band, and did, the guy was a super talent whether people like it or not
KrikaHalo
Southern Thrash! We need more bands like this!
Ioannis Savvidis
THAT addictive intro headbanging riff! LOVE IT! Respect to Exhorder for foreseeing the groove metal movement and influencing Pantera to pass it to the masses (before Cowboys From Hell was released, Anselmo walked around with an Exhorder t-shirt). I think I'll just look for those two records somewhere :D
𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗮 𝗠
Best album, great thrash metal!
Jim B
Absolute riff madness!!
christian campbell-sanderson
Those change ups on the riff 2:59 👌