Guitarist David Main & bassist Andy Villaferra were no longer in the band by the later 80s, but Exhorder got guitarist Jay Ceravolo to take David's place, and returned to conquer on July 15th, 1990 with the finished cut of Slaughter in the Vatican (with a new track called "The Tragic Period") after signing with Roadrunner Records. The debut album was produced with the help of Scott Burns (known for producing albums for bands like Death) and was recorded from December 1989 to August 1990 at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. In every way, shape and form, their full-length surpasses everything they've ever accomplished in the past with their first two demos as they were developing a more groove-oriented sound, but at the same time still thrashing and giving more character and definition to their music. Kyle Thomas' vocals may be quite harsh and vulgar, but he still pulls off his shouts in such a melodic way that puts Phil Anselmo's to shame, who obviously was influenced by Kyle! And as far as the rest of the band, Chris Nail's virtuous drumming techniques can be the worst nightmare for ANY other drummer out there, and Vinnie LaBella and Jay Ceravolo play some of the most LOUDEST and most aggressive-sounding riffs that are capable of blasting out your eardrums when volume gets cranked up to the max. These guys mean business.

Around the time Exhorder went touring in Europe, they recruited their old bassist Andy Villaferra into the band in 1991. When Slaughter in the Vatican was being recorded in 1990, the band lacked a bass player, so they used both Vinnie LaBella and Jay Ceravolo to record the bass parts on the album. They played shows in countries such as the Netherlands and France. After the success of their debut album, Exhorder returned from the tour supporting that album, and began writing and recording new songs for their next album, released on March 15th, 1992 as The Law. Not only that, but it contains their updated version of "Unforgiven" (from the Get Rude demo), and the epic "Into the Void" - which is a Black Sabbath cover! Their second album may not be as brutal as Slaughter in the Vatican, but it was better-focused and continues to feature such gruesome and punishing guitar tones.

Unfortunately, Exhorder no longer existed by the mid-90s, with Kyle Thomas focusing on other side projects like Alabama Thunderpussy or Pitts Vs Preps. And they were pretty much a forgotten metal act until later on when an angry obsessed fan published one of the first Exhorder tribute sites (click here to visit) when web hosting became a huge fad within the Internet during the late 90s/early 2000s, with some never-before-seen photos of the band, details on history and some archived interviews. I believe that if it wasn't for that site, most of the world would've never known of Exhorder. But they at least got to do some reunion shows in 1998, 2001, and 2003. However, it was official when Kyle Thomas was done fronting Alabama Thunderpussy, his main band at the time, to go and return to work with Exhorder. They reunited full-time on May 9th, 2008 with the same line-up from their 1992 album, The Law.

Currently as of 2010, Exhorder's members are working on their third studio album, but it will have a more classical direction instead of just another album that thrashes. Until I find out more, that is all we will get from them at this very time. Meanwhile, their high priority right now is to do more tours, something Kyle Thomas himself has admitted according to an interview that touring more in the early 90s could've actually helped get more metalheads into the epic music of Exhorder when they were at their prime, young & hungry.

If you want to witness Exhorder's merciless slaughterings, then check out the Videos page. You should also look up the Interviews page to help you better understand more about them, and what they also have to say about themselves and others, whether friend or foe.