Rob Dukes recently opened up about his triumphant return to the legendary Bay Area thrash outfit Exodus. Speaking with Chris Akin on “The Classic Metal Show,” the vocalist reflected on his 11-year absence, how he built a successful career outside of the music industry, and his creative contributions to the band’s crushing new studio album, Goliath.
Rob Dukes officially rejoined Exodus in January 2025. Looking back at his initial dismissal in 2014, he admitted to holding onto anger before consciously choosing to let go of the resentment and eventually rebuilding his relationship with the band.
“Well, I’d say I was pretty angry for, like, I wanna say about a year [after I was fired from Exodus in 2014],” Dukes explained. “And then I didn’t wanna spend the rest of my life in resentment and anger. They reached out to me, and then a dialogue started to happen back and forth, like a year after I was fired. And then I went and hung out with them, and it was all good, man. I went on with my life and did my own thing, and it came full circle. And one day they called me and they said, ‘Hey, man, what are you doing?’ I was, like, ‘Living life, man.’ And then they were, like, ‘Well, hey, man, would you be willing to come back?’ And I said, ‘Let me call you tomorrow.’ And I talked about it with my family and the people I needed to talk to. And I called ’em back the next day and I said, ‘Okay, man. I’m in. Let’s do it.'”
When asked if there was any awkwardness stepping back into the band after more than a decade apart, the frontman dismissed the notion, emphasizing their deep bond.
“No, man. Look, man, I lived with these guys for 10 years. We know each other like brothers. And so once I stepped off the plane and showed up, it was like I was there the day before. It’s, like, you have those friends where you haven’t talked to ’em in six months and you call ’em and then it’s just like you talked to ’em yesterday. It was just happiness. I mean, it was just cool. It was fun to be back. And it was a little nerve racking getting behind the microphone, because I wasn’t doing it on the regular. I had built a whole another life. And it wasn’t in music. I’d become a welder and a fabricator and was building cars and stuff. I was just being a regular guy, so to do it full time again was, ‘All right, let’s do it. F**k it.'”
His forced break from touring allowed him to turn his lifelong passion for hot rods and car restoration into a highly successful, full-time profession in Arizona.
“Getting fired, I’ve come to realize, was like a blessing in disguise,” Rob explained. “‘Cause I’d always built cars and had fun and made hot rods and s**t. But this was a whole new level, you know what I mean? And I have an enormous amount of money invested in tools and equipment and welders and all sorts of stuff. So, the hobby became [a full-time job], and when I wasn’t doing that, I was doing it anyway. I was doing it at night, I was doing it on weekends. And now it’s just like a whole another thing I do. So this time off away from Exodus gave me a whole new purpose in my life. So it’s something I would’ve been doing anyway. I just was somehow able to take a few welding classes, go to a few classes, work with people that were better than me and showed me stuff, and then it just kind of snowballed into, ‘S**t, I’m building really cool stuff and doing cool things.’ So it’s an added bonus to my life that I was able to harness those skills at the same time. And then to come back and be on stage again and do this at this level.”
His return to the stage culminated in the release of Goliath, which dropped on March 20 through Napalm Records. Discussing his creative role on the record, the singer proudly considers the resulting album to be the best work of his career.
“They started sending me tracks, and then I went up to the Bay Area and got in and started listening to tracks and working with ’em and sitting down and listening to this stuff over and over again. They gave me a bunch of songs to write lyrics for. So, that was a whole another process of just mind consumption of, like, what was I gonna do? ‘What am I gonna sing about? What am I gonna talk about?’ But it all worked out, man. It’s a f**king really great record, and I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Taking complete creative control, Exodus self-produced the new record. To dial in their massive sound, the band enlisted Mark Lewis (known for his work with Whitechapel, Nile, and Undeath) to handle mixing and mastering duties. The final product strikes a perfect balance between modern sonic precision and the raw, aggressive intensity that has defined the group since their groundbreaking 1985 debut, Bonded By Blood.
During his first run with the band after replacing Steve “Zetro” Souza in 2005, the vocalist recorded four essential albums with the group: Shovel Headed Kill Machine (2005), The Atrocity Exhibition… Exhibit A (2007), Let There Be Blood (2008), and Exhibit B: The Human Condition (2010).
Goliath Tracklist:
- “3111”
- “Hostis Humani Generis”
- “The Changing Me” (feat. Peter Tägtgren)
- “Promise You This”
- “Goliath” (feat. Katie Jacoby)
- “Beyond The Event Horizon”
- “2 Minutes Hate”
- “Violence Works”
- “Summon Of The God Unknown”
- “The Dirtiest Of The Dozen”
