Returning Exodus frontman Rob Dukes is completely unfazed by the negativity surrounding his recent reinstatement. Taking over vocal duties from longtime singer Steve “Zetro” Souza, Dukes recently shared his perspective on the fanbase’s reaction during an interview with Canada’s “The Metal Voice.”
According to the vocalist, the real-world reception has been nothing short of spectacular, creating a stark contrast to the chatter found on internet forums.
“It’s been awesome, man. Nobody’s come up and said to me, ‘Hey, you suck.’ Nobody’s ever said that to my face. They say it online, but they don’t ever say it to my face. It’s been awesome, man. I mean, the fans have been killer. We meet people before the show, and they’re always really stoked and happy that we’re here. And the crowd reaction seems to be f**king great, man. They’re singing along with the songs and having a blast and having a good time and everybody’s [got a] big f**king goofy grin on their face. I’m sure I got one on my face, ’cause I’m happy to be back up there again. And I acknowledge that. So, yeah, it’s been really good.”
While he noted that he avoids looking directly at the digital backlash, he admitted that his team keeps him generally informed about what is being said.
“Let me clarify: I don’t read [the online comments], but my people do, and they kind of give me the synopsis.”
Dukes then offered a thoughtful perspective on why fans become so protective over specific eras of a band’s history. He compared the passion of Exodus fans to his own deep-rooted love for classic acts like Pink Floyd, Queen, Clutch, Slayer, and The Clash.
“I look at it like this: I love music as much as everyone else,” he explained. “I mean, I love the band Pink Floyd. I love the band Queen. I love the band Clutch. I love Slayer. And even before I was in this world, I would’ve never have thought to go on a web site and trash anything they do, or even make a comment in positive. I’m not that guy. So I don’t really get why people do it, but then again, I kind of get it. You’re captivated by music because when you hear a song, it puts you in a moment of time. And that moment of time is forever encapsulated in your emotions. When I hear the album News Of The World, I’m taken back to a time of pure happiness and joy, because I had shoveled a bunch of driveways to make enough money to go to the record store, and the first album I ever bought with my own money was Queen News Of The World and The Clash first album. And those two albums have a special moment in time for me that I cannot — it will never leave me. I listen to those albums once or twice a month, because they mean so much to me. So the fans that grew up with Exodus and through all the singers, they all have their moment in time, and they’re totally entitled to f**king have that opinion. They can have that. It used to be that you would just talk about it at the bar and only the people at the bar would be subjected to your opinion. But now that there’s this Internet and the web sites and stuff, everyone can inject their opinion, whether it means anything or not.”
Ultimately, the singer made it perfectly clear that anonymous complaints hold absolutely no weight in his personal or professional life.
“I don’t give a f**k what people think of me. 99.9% of the people that talk s**t about me have never f**king met me. So you can have your opinion — you’re more than entitled to it — and that’s fine. It doesn’t affect the way I’m gonna do things or the way I live my life or who I am as a person. It doesn’t matter. So you can just keep talking s**t. It doesn’t bug me.”
Rob Dukes initially joined the Bay Area thrash legends in 2005, stepping in after Steve “Zetro” Souza departed the group. During his first nine-year tenure, he recorded four studio albums: 2005’s Shovel Headed Kill Machine, 2007’s The Atrocity Exhibition… Exhibit A, 2008’s Let There Be Blood, and 2010’s Exhibit B: The Human Condition. Souza, who originally joined in 1986 after fronting Legacy (the band that later became Testament), had previously returned from 2002 to 2004, and took the microphone back from Dukes in 2014 before his most recent exit.
