EXODUS Singer STEVE 'ZETRO' SOUZA: 'I Was A Miserable Person'

On June 6, Holland's FaceCulture conducted an interview with vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza of veteran San Francisco Bay Area thrashers EXODUS. You can now watch the chat in two parts below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On his departure from EXODUS in 2004 and his return to the band ten years later:

"Last time [in 2005] was the worst time — the whole period there. I wasn't comfortable. I pretty much did it because [late EXODUS singer] Paul [Baloff] had died. They were originally do it with Paul. And I had a young family at the time, and I had things going on, and I wasn't mentally ready to come jump back into this again. And so I took it very bitterly every time I was out [on tour]. I probably wasn't the nicest guy to be around, and things like that. It's different this time for me now — mentally, physically, musically… the whole ten yards."

On what he has discovered about himself in the ten years that he was away from EXODUS that helped him become a better person:

"Well, the problem started with me, basically. I was a miserable person. And when you're a miserable person in a band, it makes it hard for the other four people that are there, plus the crew and the management and everybody, so I had a lot to do with being the element [that was] a pain the ass. I was demanding. So I changed a lot about myself. I started with myself, and then, from there on, became a better person through that. So I'm sure if you were to interview the [other guys in the band], and ask them, 'How is [Zetro] now compared to before?' They'd be, like, '[It's like the difference between] night and day. He's so much fun now to be around and happy and in a good mood and ready to do this.' [Whereas before] I was, like, 'Just pay me and I'll do it.' [And] that's really not the drive at all anymore."

On EXODUS's many lineup changes over the years:

"I think EXODUS is bigger than any single member — the band itself. So you can't put yourself, saying, 'Well, the band will never be successful because I'm not in the band anymore.' I don't think any one person can be in this and say that — even [guitarist] Gary Holt. We love Gary — he's out with SLAYER right now — and we have a guy filling in. His name's Kragen Lum from HEATHEN, and he does a great job. But he's not EXODUS. Gary's EXODUS. But while he's not here, we still carry on — we play live — and if you close your eyes, you can't tell the difference."

EXODUS's latest album, "Blood In Blood Out", sold around 8,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released in North America on October 14, 2014 via Nuclear Blast, the CD art was illustrated by Swedish artist Pär Olofsson, known worldwide for his incredible renderings that have graced the covers of countless heavy metal albums, including EXODUS' "Let There Be Blood".

"Blood In Blood Out" is EXODUS' first album since the departure of the band's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.