{"id":456595,"date":"2026-05-23T19:21:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/456595\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T19:21:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:21:12","slug":"exodus-rob-dukes-epic-life-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/456595\/","title":{"rendered":"Exodus: Rob Dukes’ epic life story"},"content":{"rendered":"

With nearly 50 years of violence to their name, thrash<\/a> pioneers Exodus<\/a> have come back with another face-stomper, Goliath. It\u2019s the first since 2010\u2019s Exhibit B: The Human Condition to feature vocalist Rob Dukes, who split from the band in 2014. We talked to him about taking over from Steve \u2018Zetro\u2019 Souza in 2004, making his album debut the following year with Shovel Headed Kill Machine, and how he taught himself everything he knows about both kinds of metal: high-octane thrashy snarls and welding sheets of the stuff together.<\/p>\n

MUSIC IS THERAPY<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy childhood was tough; my parents got divorced when I was very young. I bounced around family members and it was hard to be grounded. My life was chaotic and I didn\u2019t make friends easily in school. But when I got home, I\u2019d put on music, and it seemed to all go away. Solace. My grandmother would come in at night, and because I\u2019d fall asleep with headphones on, she\u2019d take them off so I didn\u2019t choke myself. Music was always there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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THERE\u2019S MEANING IN METAL<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in the very low percentage of people that listen to music specifically for the lyrics. I\u2019d go to a thrash show, and then go home and put on Circumstances by Rush<\/a>. If the lyrics are really good, they lead you to investigate and figure out what they\u2019re about. I read books because of Metallica<\/a>!\u201d<\/p>\n

ALWAYS MEET YOUR HEROES<\/p>\n

\u201cI was living in LA and got hired to work as a guitar tech for Exodus. When I got on the tour bus, everyone was really fucking cool. I told them I went to see Exodus when a riot broke out. The barrier had collapsed and broke somebody\u2019s leg, so the show got stopped. People were just tearing shit apart; cars burned in the parking lot and the cops came to stop it. When I told them, the camaraderie was immediate, like guys I\u2019d known my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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SAYING YES CAN BE LIFE-CHANGING<\/p>\n

\u201cOn tour, Zetro quit on really bad terms. He didn\u2019t show up and turned his phone off. [Skinlab frontman] Steev Esquivel filled in. Gary Holt said to me, \u2018You should sing a song.\u2019 So I jumped up and sang a song. They were on tour with Megadeth<\/a> so it was full of fucking thousands of people.<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t remember it, it was so surreal. Later in New York, I was getting a tattoo and I got a phone call I\u2019ll never forget. Gary and Tom [Hunting, drums] said they wanted me to come out and audition. I said, \u2018I\u2019ll be there in a couple weeks.\u2019 I hung up the phone and said to the tattoo artist, \u2018I\u2019m gonna be the new singer of Exodus!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Rob\n<\/p>\n

Rob on stage: loudest man in the room (Image credit: Rune Hellestad – Corbis\/Corbis via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

NEVER STOP LEARNING<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first show standing in, I was terrible. I couldn\u2019t remember the lyrics or hear the timing. I had never really sung before. There are a couple of pictures and all I see is me looking at the lyrics going, \u2018Where the fuck am I supposed to sing?!\u2019 We didn\u2019t rehearse. Gary and Tom were taking such a risk \u2013 they were so insane to take someone who had never done this before, with such high-level music, you know? This isn\u2019t a bar band. I\u2019m just a guy. But I learned how to do it. I did fucking 200 shows the first year, 250 the next year. As shows went on, I started to learn more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

KEEP YOUR INSPIRATION CLOSE<\/p>\n

\u201cI literally had [original vocalist] Paul Baloff\u2019s ashes on the mic stand when I sang Shovel Headed Kill Machine in the studio. When the band tells me stories about Baloff, they talk about him with such love and reverence. Gary had his ashes in a vial, and he brought them in for me. Baloff sang with aggression and he meant it, he felt the lyrics. That\u2019s how I felt about Shovel Head. I felt the anger, the darkness, embraced it and sang in a little room, with the lights down low. It was a focal point, I just wanted to be as angry and as aggressive as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

BREATHE!<\/p>\n

\u201cI blew my voice out the very first day in the studio. I knew nothing about singing. I didn\u2019t understand that if you don\u2019t breathe properly, you\u2019re going to damage your throat. I was screaming at the top of my lungs over and over. By the end of each song I\u2019d been singing for an hour and a half at full volume, every inch of my body was screaming.<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve ever screamed at the top of your lungs, but it takes your entire body to do it. I\u2019ve learned to control my breathing, which is what keeps you from losing your voice. Sound guys tell me I sing louder than any other singer they\u2019ve worked with \u2013 a lot of singers sing very low. I used to write it on my setlist: breathe, breathe, breathe, because I would forget!\u201d<\/p>\n

LET THE PEOPLE MOSH<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my best shows is on video \u2013 Wacken 2008 was intense. We were just a fucking machine, man. It was the culmination of three years touring constantly, and catching us at the right moment. It was awesome, just perfect. There was another show in Chicago that was pure mayhem, people fighting with the bouncers. They were throwing out stage divers, and we stopped playing until they brought them back in. It was just chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n

BEWARE AIRPORT BARS<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were leaving to tour Europe for a month but our flight got delayed. Everybody got fucking hammered at the TGI Friday\u2019s at the airport. Our next flight isn\u2019t for six hours, so everyone got wrecked. We get on the plane, everyone was so drunk that this lady started freaking out. The captain threw us off and they called the police. When the police showed up the cop was like: \u2018Oh, you guys are in Exodus? I love that band!\u2019 He took a picture and left \u2013 we got on a flight six hours later and only missed one show. I remember all of it because I was sober. I was the voice of reason!\u201d<\/p>\n

KEEP ON KEEPING ON\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got fired from Exodus in 2014 I didn\u2019t see it coming. I felt betrayed, angry and resentful. I was fucking scared: my livelihood was gone. Fear caused me to lash out. I hadn\u2019t done anything in 10 years other than sing, so what the fuck was I gonna do? I was in no man\u2019s land.\u201d<\/p>\n

AND FIND NEW OPPORTUNITIES<\/p>\n

\u201cI sucked it up and said, \u2018I\u2019m gonna get a job\u2019. The only thing I knew I could make a living from was working on cars. I found a place in Arizona through Roger [Miret] from Agnostic Front. I got hired and the next thing you know I\u2019m a full-time mechanic restoring old 50s and 60s Volkswagens \u2013 I became the restoration guy. I gained a whole new life. I learned things by reading books and watching YouTube. I\u2019m like a fucking master welder now! I love fabricating stuff, I just love making stuff out of metal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Exodus\n<\/p>\n

Exodus and Rob: reunited (Image credit: Jim Louvau)<\/p>\n

LET GO OF THE FEAR<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you\u2019re not a part of the plan. That\u2019s the darker side of this thing. You\u2019d like it to be all for one, one for all. But it\u2019s not. There\u2019s money on the table. I started dealing with the resentment and the anger. I just took care of my side, \u2018Do you really want to live a life of anger and resentment, or do you want to be free of it?\u2019 That\u2019s what I kept telling myself, I\u2019m going to be fine. I was right. Because I gained a whole new life.\u201d<\/p>\n

TALK IT OUT<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just starting to piece my life back together. Exodus was a thing of the past, something on my resume. Generation Kill was more important to me. I got a call from Gary saying come to San Francisco, we all want to talk to you. I\u2019m like, \u2018Okay, but I\u2019m still a little bitter.\u2019 I sit down with them and I forgave them right then and there. In my head, I just said, \u2018You know what? They\u2019re just dudes doing their thing.\u2019 And it was all good. After that, I talked to them on a regular basis, never about Exodus. That resentment was no longer there.\u201d<\/p>\n

THERE\u2019S LIFE AFTER SOBRIETY<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the hope that you can live on a tour bus and be in a drug and alcohol-fuelled workplace and succeed. I\u2019m coming up on 33 years sober. I didn\u2019t handle alcohol well, my friend said I was like David Lee Roth<\/a> mixed with Hulk Hogan. I kept going to jail, I loved to get in fights and fucking pure drunken insanity. I was just an idiot. I watched my grandparents die from alcoholism. They were really good people. Since I quit drinking, I figured out who I am. I\u2019m much better for it. For the hopeless drunks out there, if they\u2019re listening: there is hope. Just quit, I promise you, life will get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goliath is out now via Nuclear Blast<\/p>\n

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