EXODUS's ROB DUKES: 'I Don't Give A F*** What People Think Of Me'

In a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, EXODUS singer Rob Dukes was asked what the response has been like from the band's fans since it was announced that he was returning to EXODUS as the replacement for the group's longtime vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's been awesome, man. Nobody's come up and said to me, 'Hey, you suck.' Nobody's ever said that to my face. They say it online, but they don't ever say it to my face. It's been awesome, man. I mean, the fans have been killer. We meet people before the show, and they're always really stoked and happy that we're here. And the crowd reaction seems to be fucking great, man. They're singing along with the songs and having a blast and having a good time and everybody's [got a] big fucking goofy grin on their face. I'm sure I got one on my face, 'cause I'm happy to be back up there again. And I acknowledge that. So, yeah, it's been really good."

Asked to elaborate on his reaction to the Internet chatter about his return to EXODUS, Rob said: "Let me clarify: I don't read [the online comments], but my people do, and they kind of give me the synopsis."

"I look at it like this: I love music as much as everyone else," he explained. "I mean, I love the band PINK FLOYD. I love the band QUEEN. I love the band CLUTCH. I love SLAYER. And even before I was in this world, I would've never have thought to go on a web site and trash anything they do, or even make a comment in positive. I'm not that guy. So I don't really get why people do it, but then again, I kind of get it. You're captivated by music because when you hear a song, it puts you in a moment of time. And that moment of time is forever encapsulated in your emotions. When I hear the album 'News Of The World', I'm taken back to a time of pure happiness and joy, because I had shoveled a bunch of driveways to make enough money to go to the record store, and the first album I ever bought with my own money was QUEEN 'News Of The World' and THE CLASH first album. And those two albums have a special moment in time for me that I cannot — it will never leave me. I listen to those albums once or twice a month, because they mean so much to me. So the fans that grew up with EXODUS and through all the singers, they all have their moment in time, and they're totally entitled to fucking have that opinion. They can have that. It used to be that you would just talk about it at the bar and only the people at the bar would be subjected to your opinion. But now that there's this Internet and the web sites and stuff, everyone can inject their opinion, whether it means anything or not."

Dukes added: "I don't give a fuck what people think of me. 99.9% of the people that talk shit about me have never fucking met me. So you can have your opinion — you're more than entitled to it — and that's fine. It doesn't affect the way I'm gonna do things or the way I live my life or who I am as a person. It doesn't matter. So you can just keep talking shit. It doesn't bug me."

Souza joined EXODUS in 1986 after previously fronting the band LEGACY (which later became TESTAMENT). He remained in the band until their hiatus in 1993, but rejoined them for two years from 2002 to 2004. Dukes had joined EXODUS in 2005 (following Souza's departure) and remained until 2014, when Souza rejoined.

Dukes previously joined EXODUS in January 2005 and appeared on four of the band's studio albums — "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" (2005),"The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" (2007),"Let There Be Blood" (2008, a re-recording of EXODUS's classic 1985 LP, "Bonded By Blood") and "Exhibit B: The Human Condition" (2010).

EXODUS played its first concert with Dukes in nearly 11 years on April 5, 2025 at the Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Philly at the Fillmore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

EXODUS's twelfth studio album, "Goliath", will arrive on March 20 via Napalm Records.

Image credit: Capital Chaos TV