Canadian Massacre Incoming: Exodus to Bring the Goliath Era to Saskatoon's SaskTel Centre

by Scott Roos

band photo by Jim Louvau

Thrash metal lifers Exodus are wasting no time ushering in their next era. With a stacked Canadian run alongside Megadeth and Anthrax, the Bay Area legends are already knee deep into the campaign for their upcoming full-length Goliath, and if drummer Tom Hunting is to be believed, Western Canada - especially Saskatoon this Tuesday, Feb. 24th - is in for something fierce.

“Oh, it’s been awesome,” Hunting says of the tour so far. “It’s a really good lineup… good old-fashioned thrash metal beatdown for the fans. We’re happy to be back in Canada and we’re going to some places we’ve never been before on this tour. We’re stoked.”

That enthusiasm carries extra weight given the shared history on this bill. Exodus, Megadeth, and Anthrax didn’t just grow up in the same scene. They practically grew up together. “Absolutely,” Hunting says when asked about the camaraderie. “We’ve known each other since before we knew ourselves pretty much… we’ve been playing shows together since we were teenagers.”

For fans in Saskatoon, that long-forged chemistry will translate into a set designed for maximum impact. Exodus’ merch may jokingly promise a “Canadian Massacre,” but Hunting makes it clear the band intends to deliver on the threat.

“It’s gonna be quick and brutal,” he says with a laugh. “It’s gonna be a punch in the face from start to end pretty much. Yeah — we’re gonna melt the frozen faces of the Saskatoon people.”

The tour arrives as Exodus prepares to unleash Goliath (out March 20 via Napalm Records), their first release for the label after a long run elsewhere. According to Hunting, the move wasn’t about chasing dollars but about timing and relationships.

“It was a pretty organic transition,” he explains. “We loved being on Nuclear Blast… but (the move to Napalm) just seemed like a pretty organic fit. So far it’s been awesome.”

Musically, Goliath sounds poised to continue Exodus’ late-career surge. The return of vocalist Rob Dukes injects a familiar savagery into the mix, something Hunting clearly relishes. “He did such a good job on this record,” the drummer says. “We took the music to places like it’s never been before for us… it was a good time. We had fun.”

Behind the boards, Mark Lewis steps in for longtime collaborator Andy Sneap to provide mixing and mastering, a change Hunting says was partly Sneap’s own suggestion. “Mark did a fantastic job on the record . He crushed it,” Hunting notes. “He was really easy to talk to about certain things… it was a healthy change.”

If early singles are any indication, the new material will sit comfortably beside Exodus staples like “Bonded by Blood” and “Strike of the Beast,” both of which remain fixtures in the live set. Hunting describes the current show as a kind of chronological whiplash. “I want to go brand new to oldest,” he says, calling the sequencing “kind of like a flip-flop of time travel.”

More than four decades into their career, Exodus aren’t talking about slowing down. In fact, Hunting bristles at the very idea. “Retirement’s a dirty word,” he says bluntly. “Just remember us as crushing… at the end of the day that’s what we want our shows to be.”

For Saskatchewan thrash fans thawing out in the Prairie winter, that promise should be more than enough. When Exodus, alongside Megadeth and Anthrax, hits Saskatoon, expect volume, velocity, and zero mercy - exactly the way Bay Area thrash was meant to be delivered.

Remaining Canadian dates:

Feb, 21 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place

Feb. 24 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre

Feb. 25 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre

Feb. 28 – London, ON – Canada Life Place

March 1 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre

March 3 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre

March 4 – Moncton, NB – Avenir Centre

March 66 – Québec City, QC – Videotron Centre