In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station, EXODUS drummer Tom Hunting spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the band’s follow-up to 2021’s “Persona Non Grata” album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We’re moving along. Drums are done, pretty much. We’re doing additional songs. And we figured we would maximize the time right now since we’re all in our sixties now. So why not just maximize right now, if we can? So, I think I’ve tracked like maybe 17 or 18 songs on drums. [EXODUS singer] Rob‘s [Dukes] working on vocals. [EXODUS guitarist] Gary‘s [Holt] done with all of his rhythms and leads. It’s like ‘next man up’ kind of thing. One guy gets tired and the next guy jumps in there and does some tracking.
“I don’t really know how done we are, or are you ever really done?” he continued. “I don’t think you’re ever really finished; you just kind of walk away from the songs and just [go], like, ‘Okay, this is what they are.'”
Regarding why it has taken so long for EXODUS to record the follow-up to “Persona Non Grata”, Tom said: “We’ve taken it seriously. We started jamming on some of this music last May. And we were slated to record a bunch of times and then a tour would come up. So we were, like, ‘Well, we need to work and make money.’ So we would take the tours. And we went in finally March 1st of this year. And we’ve pretty much been working ever since. I think Gary went home yesterday morning after just being there for pretty much the whole process.”
Asked how much input into the new EXODUS music Dukes, who rejoined the band in January, has had, Hunting said: “Oh, a ton. We’re so happy to have him back. He’s a really good dude to work with, and he is taking charge of this role. I’ve never heard him sing in some of the ways he’s singing on this record. It’s gonna blow people’s minds. So, I’m excited, I’m excited for him. Happy to have him back. And just fucking awesome.”
On the topic of the musical direction of the new EXODUS material, Tom said: “It’s heavy, but I’m not gonna lie — there’s some elements that are just straight-up hard rock on this record, which is cool with us, ’cause like that’s our roots too. Hard rock, punk rock, New Wave Of British Heavy Metal kind of all lumped together. That’s how our style was born, pretty much. And I think at this stage, if we wanna get weird on a song, we’re gonna get weird and just do something that people don’t expect. It’s album number 12, so we could pretty much just like… We’re not closing the book on anything, but damn — it’s, like, we survived to make 12 records. Let’s do what the hell we want.”
Last month, Holt told The Chuck Shute Podcast about EXODUS‘s upcoming album: “We’ve set ourselves an ambitious goal on this record. We’re recording two albums right now. We are a couple of songs shy from hitting our total goal of having two albums of crushing material. No filler. We figured if we have the songs, let’s record ’em. And when it’s time to release the follow-up, it’s done, it’s in the can. The chances are by the time we get to that point, I’ll have new stuff that has to be included: ‘Oh, this is so good.’ But then we go into the studio for two weeks, not two months.”
Asked by host Chuck Shute if that means EXODUS will release the first new album when it’s ready and wait a while before putting out the second one, Holt said: “Yeah, we’ll keep [the second new album] in the can, ready to go, and won’t have any downtime. We’re not getting any younger. We might as well work a little extra hard now while we can.”
As for when the first new EXODUS LP might see the light of day, Gary said: “We’re shooting for a spring release of next year — like late winter, spring. We were hoping to get it done this year, get it out this year, but we would have had to rush it. And since we’re trying to record 20 to 22 songs and we needed the time, it’s gonna be worth it in the end. And the shit is fucking phenomenal.”
Holt added: “We’re definitely a hard-working bunch. We’re not afraid to bust our ass. And it’ll save us some work down the road. In between that little break between albums, we’ll be able to relax a little. Maybe I can finally go on a vacation. I’ve never had one.”
This past January, it was announced that EXODUS had parted ways with longtime singer Steve “Zetro” Souza and was being rejoined by Dukes.
Souza joined EXODUS in 1986 after previously fronting the band LEGACY (which later became TESTAMENT). He remained in the band until their hiatus in 1993, but rejoined them for two years from 2002 to 2004. Dukes had joined EXODUS in 2005 (following Souza‘s departure) and remained until 2014, when Souza rejoined.
Dukes previously joined EXODUS in January 2005 and appeared on four of the band’s studio albums — “Shovel Headed Kill Machine” (2005),“The Atrocity Exhibition… Exhibit A” (2007),“Let There Be Blood” (2008, a re-recording of EXODUS‘s classic 1985 LP, “Bonded By Blood”) and “Exhibit B: The Human Condition” (2010).
In February, Holt told Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic about EXODUS‘s follow-up to “Persona Non Grata”: “We’re just working away. The album will be done when it’s done. We’re not gonna rush it. The last album was fucking phenomenal. So, I’m always trying to top the last one, and this one’s gotta be fucking as good or better than ‘Persona’, which I rank number two — it’s my second-favorite EXODUS album behind [1985 debut] ‘Bonded By Blood’.”
When Ratches noted that EXODUS has always had strong personalities fronting the band, from Paul Baloff to Steve “Zetro” Souza to Rob Dukes, Holt concurred. “That’s just part and parcel of being a frontman, I guess,” he said. “I think most frontmen in metal do [have strong personalities]. From all my friends, guys like [OVERKILL‘s] Bobby Blitz — he’s a total frontman, strong personality. He’s awesome. He’s a character. The rest of us are allowed to be a little normal, I guess, normal-ish. EXODUS were always a fucking band of lunatics anyway, especially in our youth when all five of us were certifiably insane.
“But, yeah, that’s a hard job being a frontman,” he continued. “You don’t have a guitar to hide behind. You’re standing there exposed. You have a microphone in your hand, maybe a mic stand, maybe half a mic stand, but that’s the extent of what you’ve got to hide behind, kind of. So it’s hard.
“All the vocalists in EXODUS have all contributed amazing shit, Baloff being the gold standard, and Zetro has done amazing work with the band, and so has Rob,” Holt added. “And people will say things like, ‘Well, this record is so heavy or this era because of Rob.’ I write the songs the way I write them regardless of who’s fucking singing… I don’t write to the guy singing, and I never have. Those songs on the last album would be the same if they were written for Paul, if he was alive, or as they were written for Zetro or written for Rob. The same goes for the Rob Dukes albums. I just write the songs that are in my head at that time.”
Although EXODUS rarely gets mentioned alongside the so-called “Big Four” of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — the aforementioned “Bonded By Blood” LP inspired the likes of TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, VIO-LENCE and many others to launch their careers and is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time.
EXODUS will embark on a spring 2025 U.S. tour dubbed “Swarm Of Horror”. Beginning directly after the “Bonded By Blood” 40th-anniversary shows (in Berkeley, California on Friday, April 25 at UC Theatre and Anaheim, California on Saturday, April 26 at House of Blues),the trek will start in Phoenix, Arizona on April 27 and visit several markets across the central U.S., ending in Asheville, North Carolina on May 13. Amid the tour, EXODUS will perform at Sonic Temple, Welcome To Rockville and Milwaukee Metal Fest.
Photo credit: Lisa Holt
Source: blabbermouth.net
