Exodus Tears It Up in Anaheim

Heather Vandemark
Apr 30, 2025
4 min read

When I saw this lineup of Exodus, Death Angel, Hirax, and Nukem, I knew we were in for a crazy night. This is a prime example of Gen X not knowing how old we are and still jumping in that pit, but now we bring our kids in too! Exodus is celebrating 40 years of Bonded by Blood with an amazing lineup that matched the chaos vibe at House of Blues Anaheim. This was a special two-show celebration with Death Angel, Nukem, and, on this night, Hirax. The House of Blues Anaheim is our favorite venue in the OC. I’ll say it every time, the staff is pretty cool all around, and I feel safe in the parking structure right next to the venue. We willingly drive from San Diego to attend shows at this venue.

Most shows have people trickling in, maybe missing a band or two, but not on this night. The lineup was so perfect that they were rolling in on time, packing it in early to not miss the opening band Nukem. I’ve known Steve Brogden (vocals, guitar) for a lot of years in passing at shows, usually working BTS as guitar tech. This was my first time seeing him perform. I was blown the fuck away! The opening band is usually warming up the crowd, but the fans were already so fired up when Nukem took the stage, because they don’t play live very often. People were screaming “Nukem!” and the crowd surfers were already coming over the rails first song. Even security wasn’t expecting that. Beautiful chaos from the first song.

As photographers, we usually get the first three songs to capture what we can. With lighting, movement, jumps, it can be a bit challenging for us as is, then a few crowd surfers coming over the rail, trying to get to a shot, while watching our back, and trying to stay out of security’s way. I may be an anomaly when I say I absolutely love that shit! Keep them coming! It was non-stop crowd surfers coming over the rail behind us from the get-go! I did get slammed into the stage a few times as security was body catching behind me in that small space. But it’s part of the fun, it adds to the challenge, and I’m there for it, well, until we get kicked out of the photo pit.

Hirax is a band I have not seen before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. They are also a thrash band with a long history that started back in 1984. I missed the first song because I had to run out and get Kaiya really quickly. I ran back in the photo pit just in time to catch the lead singer and only remaining original member, Katon W. De Pena, jump down to sing with the fans on the barricade. Then he jumped right in the middle of them. They were a lot of chaotic fun!

Death Angel has been one of my favorite bands since 1987, when Frolic in the Park was released. Last year, lead vocalist Mark Osegueda joined Kerry King’s solo project. While it’s rumored to have caused a disturbance in the force among Death Angel members, I have no idea if there’s any truth to it, because on stage, they were cohesive and put on an amazing set. I love that they put some of our favorite old school songs in the set list, including “The Moth” and “Voracious Souls”. Death Angel is doing their 10th annual Xmas shows on December 18 and 19 at The Fillmore in San Francisco. They will also be celebrating the 35th Anniversary of Act III, played in its entirety. Sold out already! Guys, I think we need a bigger venue!

There was an audio playing for a few minutes before Exodus took the stage. Later, I understood it was a tribute to the late Paul Baloff, the original vocalist for Exodus, who passed away in 2002 of a stroke. We were not only celebrating the 40-year anniversary of the album Bonded by Blood that he recorded, but also his birthday, a pretty special celebration. Recently, Steve Souza, who has had multiple stints with Exodus, was recently let go, and Rob Dukes is back after a decade. They have both contributed to the success of the band, but we know bands are a business, and whatever the issues are, they do what’s best for them. We wish Souza the best and welcome back Rob! The fans had been going hard for three bands already and they upped the energy even more when Gary Holt (guitar), Lee Altus (guitar), Jack Gibson (bass), and Tom Hunting (drums) walked out on stage starting off appropriately with “Bonded by Blood” We go to a lot of shows and this was one of the craziest I’ve seen at House of Blues Anaheim. After leaving the photo pit, I stood about halfway back so I could watch the chaos. There was a group of guys screaming their names, “Gary!!!” “Rob!!”. When Mark Osegueda joined them to sing the Scorpion cover “He’s a Woman-She’s a Man”, they were screaming “Mark!!!” kind of funny, like a thrash version of a Taylor Swift show.