STEVE "ZETRO" SOUZA Looks Back On Leaving LEGACY To Join EXODUS, Weighs In On TESTAMENT - "You Guys Wouldn't Think Of Testament Without CHUCK BILLY, Would You? Exactly..." (Video)
June 27, 2020, 4 years ago
Exodus frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza recently took to YouTube to answer fan-submitted question. Check out the Q&A session via the official Exodus YouTube channel below.
On leaving Testament - then known as Legacy - in 1986 to join Exodus:
"It was a hard decision, definitely. I wouldn't probably have left for anybody else, but at the time, all of the bands like Legacy, Forbidden, Vio-Lence, any of the other bands in the Bay Area - they totally loved and respected Metallica, but everybody wanted to be like Exodus. When I got the call to join the band - and mind you, for a year before I was asked to join, and I was asked to join in early June of '86, there was always this speculation that Zetro was gonna replace Baloff in Exodus. And they called me, so I felt very overwhelmed, and I felt very honored, and I took it head-on; I was like, 'Yeah, I love this band, let's do it.'
As far as Chuck (Billy), I remember I was out exercising, and I remember I have seen him, and we were in our hometown and he's like, 'Damn, Zet, you're joining Exodus, man. I can't believe it.' I was like, 'Yeah man, you want to try off for Legacy?' He's like, 'Really?' I go, 'Yeah,' and he goes, 'Thrash metal?', and I said, 'Yeah, man, you can do it.' Because at the time, Chuck was playing in kind-of like a power-hair-metal band called Guilt. They weren't really thrash. In fact, he'd never really played thrash before.
So actually, we had an amicable split, and the first couple of practices, a couple of weeks at Legacy rehearsal, I went there with Chuck, and kind of showed him how I project the songs like 'Raging Waters' and 'Burnt Offerings', 'Over The Wall,' and 'The Haunting', and songs that I'd already written for Legacy. I think it's worked out great for everybody because Chuck is a very awesome frontman, he fits the bill quite well. I mean, you guys wouldn't think of Testament without Chuck, would you? Exactly, I think it worked out great."