Exhorder

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Exhorder
Franky Sparcello, Vinnie Labella, Jay Ceravolo, Kyle Thomas, Chris Nail
Background information
Origin	New Orleans, USA
Genre(s)	Thrash metal (first album), Groove metal (second album)
Years active	1985 - 1992, 1998, 2003
Label(s)	Roadrunner Records
Associated acts	Pitts vs Preps Floodgate Alabama Thunderpussy Fall from Grace
Website	www.myspace.com/exhordernola
Former members
Kyle Thomas Vinnie Labella Jay Ceravolo Franky Sparcello Chris Nail Andy Villaferra

Exhorder was a thrash metal and then groove metal band formed in New Orleans, USA during the late 1980s. They are often credited as the purveyors of the groove-oriented thrash sound later made famous by bands such as Pantera, Machine Head, and White Zombie.

1 Biography
2 Controversy
3 Members
4 Discography
- 4.1 Demos
- 4.2 Studio Albums
5 References

Exhorder was formed in 1985 in New Orleans, USA and was one of the bands that helped shape the "Louisiana sound," a common sound shared between many metal bands from the state. They released two demos, one in 1986 called Get Rude, and another one, Slaughter in the Vatican in 1988. Their first full-length album was released in 1990, it spawned from the 1988 demo, hence the title Slaughter in the Vatican. By crafting chugging, tight riffs with a rigid structure, Exhorder made quite the local impression with the album. Although dismissed by some because of the offensive title and front cover, many say the album paved the way for Pantera's Cowboys from Hell and helped turn the thrash genre into a new direction^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4].

Although their second offering, 1992's The Law was a lot more in the vein of groove metal rather than pure thrash, it did not have the same effect, and the band eventually split. Lead singer Kyle Thomas wanted to take the music in a different direction and also like many metal bands in the early 1990s they succumbed to the fall of heavy metal's popularity due to the rise of alternative rock and fell into obscurity. Thomas went on to form Floodgate with his brother, and also briefly appeared live as the vocalist for Trouble, while guitarist Jay Ceravolo formed Fall from Grace. They had few reunion gigs in 2003 but as of now the band states their hiatus is permanent^[5].

It has been claimed that Exhorder more or less invented the sort of angry, 90's post-thrash metal often attributed to Pantera. The resemblance between The Law and Pantera's Cowboys from Hell is clear, with stripped-down rhythm guitars, heavy double-bass drumming, and angry, almost identical vocals complimenting the basic American thrash style of the late 80's. Some also say that Slaughter in the Vatican bears many similarities to Cowboys from Hell^[6].