Returning EXODUS Singer STEVE 'ZETRO' SOUZA Says He Has "Changed A Lot' In Last Ten Years

Rock Brigade magazine conducted an interview with vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza, guitarist Gary Holt and drummer Tom Hunting of San Francisco Bay Area thrashers EXODUS on October 3 in São Paulo, Brazil. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked how Souza's return to EXODUS came about nearly a decade since he last left the band, Gary said: "We knew we needed a new singer, and we didn't know who it would be. And [Zetro] actually auditioned.We let him sing on a new song, something he had never heard before, and he had the audio track for a few hours."

Added Zetro: "Basically, it was a test, I think. I got [the song] at 10:30 on a Wednesday night and I recorded it at five o'clock the next day. So I listened to it all day and just put it in my head and tried to do the best I could do with myself and think what I would do if it was me doing it with EXODUS. I've done five other albums with this band, so it's not like a new singer coming in. It's been ten years [since I was last in the band], but still… I've known these guys since I was a little kid."

Regarding how it feels having Zetro back in EXODUS after all this time, Hunting said: "It's better now [than it was ten years ago]. I think because we're older and maybe a little more mentally mature, I guess."

Added Zetro: "I think we respect each other's space a lot more, we respect each other as people much more. I know I do myself. I was a certain way and these guys know how I was. And I've, in the last ten years, tried to change that about myself, the way that I treat people. I've changed a lot. And I think that helps everything along. Because I'll be the first one to [admit], I was a bear to deal with. That had to change. It was a lot on me, really. And I take responsibility for that as well."

Continued Hunting: "We weren't always the best-communicating band. I just you have to grow into that, you know what I mean? And accept people for [their] differences or whatever. And we've had our history. But I think we're at a point now where we can talk about anything."

EXODUS' new 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 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".