ROB DUKES On His Return To EXODUS: 'I Didn't Expect It'

In a new interview with Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco Bay Area radio station 107.7 The Bone, EXODUS singer Rob Dukes, who rejoined the band in January, spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal legends' follow-up to 2021's "Persona Non Grata" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[We are] tracking vocals [right now]. Well, they're pretty much doing everything, so they got the drums done and then some guitars and they're doing the rhythms and all that. And then me and Jack [Gibson, EXODUS bassist], him doing the bass, we kind of trade off and on days, 'cause I can only go for two or three hours and then I'm kind of spent for the day until the next day."

Asked how many tracks will be on the new EXODUS album, Dukes said: "It's 11. And it's fucking heavy as fuck, man. I mean, it is fucking heavy and dark and cool. But what's surprising to me about it was there was a little bit of MOTÖRHEAD-y rock stuff going on. I'm, like, 'Oh, cool, man. This is a little departure from the norm.' It was really cool. And so I get to step outside the box a little bit, which is nice, man. It's kind of cool. Good challenge."

Elaborating on the sound of the new EXODUS material and how it compares to the band's previous output, Rob said: "Well, EXODUS is always gonna [sound like] EXODUS because they don't sound like anybody else. And that's just Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] and Tom [Hunting, EXODUS drummer] and Lee [Altus, EXODUS guitarist]. The way they do things is just different.

"I really can't compare it to anything else, but there are elements of everything, but they've stepped outside those elements also, and they're doing a couple things that I'm, like, 'Wow, that's fucking new. All right, cool. Yeah, I'm in.' You know what I mean?" he explained. "And it'll be cool, man. And it doesn't take away from the fucking heaviness of it or anything. It's just a little different, but it's fucking cool."

Dukes went on to say that EXODUS is still "definitely setting the bar pretty high when it comes to thrash. I mean, Gary and Tom, they're just fucking unbelievable, man," he said. "And I feel really honored and privileged to be a part of it."

Reflecting on how he came to rejoin EXODUS after a 10-year absence, Dukes said: "It's like a crazy thing to happen. I didn't expect it. I didn't know I was getting a phone call before I got it. And I had to think about it, you know what I mean? I have a whole life that I built up. So it was kind of, like, 'All right, well, let me talk about it and think about it.' And then I was, like, 'All right, cool. Let's do it, man. Let's go have fun.' Yeah."

"I found out right around Christmas," he revealed. "I forget what day it was. It was right around Christmas, though. But yeah. And, yeah, I immediately started listening to… They gave me a list of songs that are possibly in the setlist moving forward, and then the setlist for this show. I've been listening every day and just trying to remember the words and the phrasings and stuff."

Referencing the fact that EXODUS is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the band's classic debut album, "Bonded By Blood", in 2025, Rob said: "This album has been with me so long, I feel stupid when I don't remember [some of the words]. But one thing I do is I kind of… It's like this thing when you think about something that's coming up that you [have] trouble remembering. You're not in the moment that you're in, and then that moment becomes compromised. And so I've been jumping lines. But I've been okay with it. I actually remembered a lot more than I thought I was gonna, and I did a rehearsal two days ago and I didn't use any notes. And I kind of realized, 'Okay, so this is the one I'm having trouble with. This one I'm having trouble with.' So, I made notes for those. But we'll see, man. It'll be all right."

He continued: "I always had a thing, like when I would tour, I would use a cheat sheet for a couple shows and then three or four shows in, I didn't need it anymore. But for a couple shows I would rely on it because I would [be, like], 'What's the first word of that verse?' And it was coming up and I wouldn't remember it. And then I looked down and go, 'Oh, okay. That's it.' And once I knew the first word, I was fine. And then muscle memory came in. And, like I said, four or five shows, I didn't need it anymore. I stopped doing it. I just have to write what city I was in, 'cause I would forget. I've said the wrong city a couple of times, which is quite embarrassing. I try to make a joke about it."

EXODUS played its first concert with Dukes in nearly 11 years on April 5 at the Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Philly at the Fillmore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fan-filmed video of that concert can be seen below.

In January it was announced that EXODUS had parted ways with longtime singer Steve "Zetro" Souza and had reunited with Dukes.

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.

Regarding how he ended up back in the EXODUS fold, Rob told Mark Strigl in February: "How it happened was Lee and Gary called me, and Tom called me, and they all spoke to me individually to kind of see where I was at. And then they asked me, and I said, 'Sure.'

"I'm not gonna talk about why they did what they did [as far as parting ways with Zetro] — that's on them to talk about, 'cause I have no idea," he continued. "I mean, I kind of do, but it's not my place. So, I'll let them handle that end.

"I was as surprised as you, man," Dukes admitted. "I mean, when I got the call… Me and Gary didn't speak as much, but me and Tom talk all the time. Me and Lee constantly talk about hockey and give each other shit — I'm a Rangers fan; he's a Flyers fan — so we're always in contact, especially during hockey season. And then, like I said, man, it came out of nowhere for myself too. And I took a day and decided, 'Yeah, okay, I can make it work.' 'Cause I have to put my life on hold, the life I've been building for 10 years as a car builder and a welder. But I sat down with the people I work for and the people I work with and I explained the situation and they were all, like, 'Yeah, go do it, man. You only live once.' And I was, like, 'Yeah, cool. That's exactly how I was thinking about it.' So, it all worked out, man. And everybody's stoked and happy."

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).

During an appearance on a recent episode of the "Rock And Roll Geek Show" podcast, which is hosted by former EXODUS bassist Michael Butler, Holt opened up about Souza's departure, saying: " People ask [why we fired Zetro] — everybody wants to know because we've chosen not to tell anybody. All I ever tell people is, marriages don't often work. And just 'cause you saw a married couple out in public that seemed happy, you don't know what's going on at home. I don't know if the wife's throwing frying pans at his head or he's fucking drunk out of his ass, fucking screaming at him and slapping the kids. You don't know. Just 'cause they go out in public and they put on a happy face.

"We've got nothing but respect for Zetro, and we've got love [for him] and I'm honored to have made some great music [with him]. But I'm also 60 years old, and the five of us need to be on the same page. And now we are."

After Butler suggested that musicians sometimes have different personalities and "people can get on your nerves sometimes", Holt clarified: "It's not even a matter of [anything] like that because we all get on each other's nerves. It's just as you get older, this job, either you still love it or it becomes incredibly difficult… For me, [it's] fucking not [difficult] at all. And so, for whatever our reasons, four guys had a reason to do what we did."

Regarding why he and his EXODUS bandmates decided to bring Dukes back to the group, Gary said: "I'm 60 years old. The idea of getting an unfamiliar person in the band would not be an option… I think we all reached out when we became apparent. And sure, I could have found some 30-year-old dude who could still jump off a drum riser and has washboard abs and is not all fat like the rest of us. But I need someone who's close to my own age. I'm too old to have to like fucking educate some young kid on music that I like."

Although EXODUS rarely gets mentioned alongside the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — the aforementioned "Bonded By Blood" LP inspired the likes of TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, VIO-LENCE and many others to launch their careers and is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time.

Photo credit: Lisa Holt