As he prepares to launch his solo career this weekend, former Exodus frontman Steve “Zetro” Souza has revealed the mission behind his new project: to unearth and perform the deep cuts and fan-requested rarities from his Exodus and Legacy eras that have been ignored for decades. In a new video update, Zetro stated that he has no immediate plans to write new music, as he first wants to give life to the massive catalog of songs that have “not been played in years.”
Speaking on his Zetro’s Toxic Vault YouTube channel ahead of his first-ever solo shows in Florida, the legendary thrash vocalist detailed the unique concept for his setlist.
“I’ll be playing a lot of Exodus, a lot of deep cuts, a lot of songs that I’ve seen you guys, over the years through social media, chime in about wanting to hear,” Zetro explained. “This will be an old-school evening of Bay Area thrash metal… I would say there’s maybe only three or four [songs] that you have heard me sing in the set in the past. Everything else has not been played for a long time. Some songs probably when the albums came out initially. I know one song I can’t even remember playing ever.”
He specifically mentioned fan requests for classic tracks like “‘Cajun Hell’, ‘Verbal Razors’, ‘Chemi-Kill’, ‘Seeds Of Hate’,” and even the 11-minute epic “Architect Of Pain,” which he noted has “never been played live.” He also plans to perform material from his time in Legacy, the band that would go on to become Testament.
When asked about the possibility of creating new solo material, Zetro was clear that his current focus is on celebrating his existing, often-overlooked catalog.
“I’m gonna be honest with you: right now I’m not really into writing or doing a new solo Zetro project with new songs,” he said. “I feel that there’s so much, or so many songs, that have not been played in years or have never been played that I think I’d like to make shows of that first. And maybe in a year or two down the road, if it seems right to do, I’ll venture [into writing and recording new music].”
He added: “You guys don’t want to hear new solo Zetro songs. You’re gonna be yelling out the stuff from Exodus or the stuff that you know that I performed with Legacy.”
For longtime fans of Bay Area thrash, Zetro‘s new solo project is an exciting and rare opportunity to finally hear some of the most beloved and overlooked classics of the genre, performed live by the iconic voice that made them famous. His first two solo shows are this weekend in Florida, with a three-date tour of Australia already scheduled for February 2026.
