Chuck Billy has explained how he and his management group helped bring Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza back to Exodus in time to appear on latest album Blood In, Blood Out.
Souza returned for a third stint last year, replacing former frontman Rob Dukes after years of bad feeling between the singer and guitarist Gary Holt.
And Testament frontman Billy, who runs the Breaking Bands management firm, hints that the group were already thinking of ditching Dukes, who’d spent nine years with them.
Billy tells KTVU: “All we knew was that they were getting ready to do a new record and that possibly Rob might not be on this one. We thought, ‘What do we do? Do we go out, start from scratch and get a new singer? Or do we maybe bring Zet back into the fold?
“We tossed it around and said, ‘The thing that makes sense is Zet – he knows all the old material. He could step right in and nail the new record right away.’”
In order to avoid unnecessary argument, Billy arranged for Souza to record a version of one of the songs planned for Blood In, Blood Out. “He knocked it out in one take and we sent it to Gary Holt and the guys,” says Billy. “They said, ‘We know what we’re going to do.’”
He adds: “It wasn’t a big management thing. We just facilitated it and made sure they were going to communicate. Because communicating among band members – especially bands that are trying to get back together – it’s not the best.”
Earlier this month, Souza said his relationship with Holt was better than ever. Exodus return to the UK in June:
Jun 23: London Underworld
Jun 24: London Underworld
Jun 25: Manchester Academy 3
