The San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band that released Bonded by Blood in 1985 was Exodus. The album was the group’s debut studio record and became one of the foundational releases of the Bay Area thrash scene.
Exodus formed in the early 1980s in Richmond, California, near San Francisco. The band developed alongside local peers such as Metallica, Testament, Death Angel, and later Forbidden, helping establish a fast, aggressive style built on precise riffing, rapid drumming, and socially charged or violent imagery.
Bonded by Blood was recorded in 1984, but disagreements and delays at the record label pushed its release to April 1985. The original album featured vocalist Paul Baloff, guitarists Gary Holt and Kirk Hammett’s replacement Rick Hunolt, bassist Rob McKillop, and drummer Tom Hunting. Its title track and songs such as “A Lesson in Violence” became thrash standards.
The nearby bands in the question are all associated with the same regional movement, which makes the mix-up understandable. However, Bonded by Blood is specifically Exodus’s debut, not an album by Testament, Death Angel, or Forbidden.