Former Exodus Singer Rob Dukes Has Harsh Words for Ex-Bandmates

After fronting Exodus for nine years, singer Rob Dukes was dismissed from the seminal thrash act in 2014 as they welcomed back Steve 'Zetro' Souza to the fold. While he initially was cordial about the move, it seems he is now harboring some ill-feeling toward the band.

In a new interview with Painful Pleasures, Dukes was asked if he had anything new to say in regards to his split with Exodus. Succinctly, the frontman said, "F--k those douchebags. I never have to talk to them again...or their managers, and that's such a good thing. It's like I cut a cancer out of my life."

This is a vast departure from what Dukes had to say after initially learning about the news last year. In a statement issued to Blabbermouth, he said, "I’m grateful for the last nine years. I’ve had the experience of touring the world playing music. I was just a regular guy, a fan, and I got the chance to front a legendary band while [having had] no prior experience of being a singer. I had no idea what I was doing and made it up as I was going along. I had the experience of making records. It was a great chapter of my life."

There has been some back and forth between Dukes and the band about how he was let go. In an interview on the 'Blood, Sweat and Metal' podcast, the former Exodus frontman said, "Tom [Hunting] called me… He called me and said, 'We're gonna go on with a different singer. We're gonna be going with Zet [Steve Souza].' And that was it. It was about a 20-second phone call. And that was really all I got. That's it."

Clearing this up on Exodus' forum, guitarist Gary Holt elaborated, "First. There were the calls to Rob preceding this, how long should the final call be? Me, being in Europe pretty much got the rundown on everything as we went through this. Much time was spent on this. It isn't for the money. Chuck [Billy] did not orchestrate this. There were issues behind the scenes and we came to a conclusion. 20 seconds was not all this involved."

He went on to say, "I wish nothing but the best for Rob, have nothing but love for the man. He will be a force for a long time and I am proud of him and how he went from a dude with a pink mohawk to a vicious thrash vocalist. All will remain internal, I see no need to air the laundry for anyone. He is a killer singer and we have total respect for him and love the music we made together."

The reference to Testament frontman Chuck Billy stems from Exodus being managed by Billy's own Breaking Bands LLC, which he co-founded. Of course, Testament and Exodus have a long history together, both emerging as some of the most successful thrash bands to come out of the Bay Area.

Exodus are currently on tour supporting King Diamond performing Abigail in its entirety. For a full listing of tour dates, click here.

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