EXODUS's STEVE 'ZETRO' SOUZA On Social Media's Impact On Music Industry: 'The Mystique Is Gone'

In a recent interview with Chicago's WXAV 88.3 FM radio station, EXODUS singer Steve "Zetro" Souza was asked how the introduction of social media has affected the music industry. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It made it more accessible for people to get to their favorite bands, definitely. There's a plus and minus to it. But then again, it took the mystique away from it, I think. But that's with everything. Before, you were at a concert and you saw, like — I don't know — Angus [Young, AC/DC guitarist] walking off of a bus or one of the guys in AEROSMITH and he looked over and waved at you, you'd be so pleased because it's such a rare thing. Now they'll film themselves and put it on their own Instagram of them doing shit like that. There's no validity to it anymore. It's not special. It's not, like, 'Wow. How cool was that? I got to check this out. And this is so cool. And, man, this is an exclusive picture,' or whatever. Now there's a camera on everybody's telephone… So what's the memory to get with anyone? It's a photo or a video. So there you go. And it puts it in your hands. So the mystique is gone… [Fans attending concerts will] take a picture of themselves with the band behind them, like, 'Look where I'm at. I'm at this gig.' It's, like, 'Oh my God. Watch the show. Put the phone down.' But we don't get a lot of that, because when we go to play, there's a moshpit, there's people going crazy. And there's a good chance [the phone will] get knocked out of your hand. I mena, it happens. In our genre of metal, there's not 40 people in the front holding the camera because they won't be able to. It kind of works in our favor."

EXODUS's latest album, "Persona Non Grata", came out in November via Nuclear Blast Records. It is the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' first release since the departure of Rob Dukes and the return of Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

"Persona Non Grata" was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap. For the third time in the band's history, they returned to Swedish artist Pär Olofsson to create the album artwork.

In July 2021, EXODUS drummer Tom Hunting underwent a successful total gastrectomy in his battle with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the stomach. He rejoined his bandmates on stage on October 7, 2021 at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.