EXODUS have been around since the dawn of Thrash. They have stood the test of time and persevered through the dark days when Metal was not the "hip" thing to listen to and was ignored by the majority of the industry. Now that Metal is coming back into the spotlight, a new generation of metalheads are being introduced to one of the greatest innovators of the genre and EXODUS are being paid their due.

What are your thoughts on the current Thrash Metal revival? It seems it's becoming one of the hot subgenres of Metal again.

"Right. Honestly, I don't really... I've listened to a couple of the bands, but I don't really listen to trends or whatever; I listen to what I listen to and that's that. Honestly, I haven't really kept up too much on the news of all that, you know. If they're saying it's a revival, that's good for us, I guess, you know what I mean?"

EXODUS is a band that's been around for a very long time, has survived a lot of trends - what's it like being the new guy in the band?

"It sucks. (laughs) It's killer, you know what I mean? I get to sing for a band that I loved as a kid and grew up on, so it's kind of like a surreal kind of deal for me to be doing what I'm doing, so it's kind of cool."

Does it ever piss you off when certain people who think because they have membership on a forum or a MySpace page, think they're pundits or whatever slam on you because you're not Paul Baloff or Steve Souza?

"I don't care what they think. I like arguing with them every once in a while just for the fun of it, but basically, they're like an armchair quarterback, you know what I mean? When you walk in my shoes, then you can tell me what the deal is, but until then, shut the fuck up. Who cares what you think? It's all opinion based, you know what I mean? Somebody said the other day, you know, I read somewhere and they're like 'he sucks' and blah blah blah and I'm like 'if you're so fucking good, then you should be doing it'. If you've got all the fucking answers, then... whatever."

I like that answer.

"Yeah."

Tell us a little bit about "The Atrocity Exhibition" - what was it like going through the recording process and how well do you think it translates live?

"For me, it was stressful, you know. I felt unrehearsed - we didn't have a lot of time for... I just felt like we could have used a bit more time to rehearse. But I mean, it came out way, way past my expectations. I just wish I had more time, that was all, 'cause we kind of had to plow through it and I didn't get to sit with it for long periods of time, listen back and go 'okay, I can do this better, I can do that better', but I listen to it now, I go 'wow' - it just really came across the way I wanted it to; I don't think I really would have changed anything, you know? Live... live it's a little... all of it stands out out, I mean, it's all killer, it's all relevant, it's just as viable music today as anything else, you know what I mean? It's not like we're rehashing a few songs and going out and doing shitty music. I mean, we're playing good fucking music and continuous for thirty-plus years, you know? But the stuff, it seems to be translating live, man - the kids are singing along with me and they know all the words, they're fucking killing eachother out there in front of it, so it's all good, you know."

What do you think of a lot of the crossover in the Metal scene where a lot of the Hardcore is coming in? Like there are positives and negatives - it means more bands get exposure, there's more viable differences in sound, but at the same time, there's negative things like people coming in and doing fake kung fu in the pits and crap like that. What are your thoughts on this?

"Um... I mean, I love Hardcore. I'm from New York - I grew up on that shit, you know what I mean? So it's kinda like I... you know, there's two different kinds of crowds - there's a metalhead crowd and they definitely react differently in a pit situation, where Hardcore kids... so when you put them together, it doesn't always go well, you know? I think the Hardcore kids... basically, to me, Hardcore is just Metal without solos. It was kind of like just power chords put together in a certain way and just no guitar solos. Hardcore music is Metal, man, you know. But when those kids are in the pit, it can make some of the smaller kids, when a big guy'so ut there throwing karate kicks, kids don't want to get hit in the head with that and it sucks. I've been out there and it sucks, so it definitely sometimes doesn't go together, but what are you going to do?"

Could we expect you to possibly tour with labelmates AGNOSTIC FRONT?

"Probably not, even though I would personally love to, it would be great. I mean, we did the HATEBREED tour and it was kind of the same thing - it was a mixture of both and some nights it was great, some nights it was awkward and some nights it didn't work and then there's certain crowds that did, so we took it as it came, you know. But it's all good; I'm a Punk Rock guy from the old school, so I dig it all."

What do you think of the rather disturbing rise of National Socialism within the Heavy Metal community?

"I don't understand what you mean by that."

National Socialism - it's pretty much akin to the white power movement.

"They're all fucking douchebags, I couldn't give a fuck about those people, you know. Anybody who's a racist, ignorant fucking fool, I ain't got no time for at all, so whatever got, their little deal they got going on, they can have it. Just don't bring it in my face."

What's the Metal festival you're looking forward to the most this year?

"Wacken and the one with SLAYER we're doing. That'll be fun. I can't remember the name of it, but I know we're doing one with SLAYER and then Wacken, which should be pretty good."

What's your favorite tattoo?

"It'd have to be the monkey in my armpit. That's pretty crazy and my Bobba Fet holding the severed head of Princess Leah, that's pretty cool."

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

"No, that's about it. It's coming to the end of the tour and my throat's a bit sore, I'm a little tired and I could use a break, so just trying to relax and drink some tea, not talk too much. (laughs) So that's about it, man." [FIN]