Of all the wonderful forms of metal out there today, nothing holds a place in my heart higher than the pile driving force of almighty Thrash Metal. Thrash, with its speed and aggression, is truly a pure art form. Recently I had the chance to see one of my favorite Thrash bands perform in my very own hometown: the mighty Exodus. Exodus celebrates the 30th anniversary of their first album Bonded by Blood this year and are currently touring around with King Diamond on his Abigail Tour. Exodus took a break from King and came up to Ramona California to play for a small but extremely privileged crowd at the Ramona Main Stage. When Exodus took the stage, they played with a fierce intensity and a thirst for violence that had brought life to the younger thrashers as well as awoken something that had lain dormant in the older crowd who had grown up in the 80’s and 90’s. The pit writhed with furious brotherhood, and I felt like I was transported back to the bay area underground metal scene of 1985.
After the show, my wife and I waited out in the cold Autumn air to try and talk Horror with the band. We learned that Exodus front man Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza is a huge fan of horror, and we decided to try and introduce ourselves. I asked him if he wouldn’t mind geeking out on horror for a few minutes and without any hesitation he invited us into their massive tour bus. I asked him about how horror has influenced his music, and what movies he considers his top 5.
Steve couldn’t wait to start talking horror. He confessed to us that even on the tour bus he has 160 episodes of Dark Shadows at the ready, classic horror and movies like Re-Animator and Bride of Re-Animator. He just watches horror non stop and just like most of us, he also loves the cheesy stuff. He mentioned Head of the Family and Evil Bong.
He told us that he would go back in time and score Nosferatu with a “creepy grindy heavy score”. Whenever Max Schreck walked around you would hear Metal, and in 1922, it would blow people’s minds. “They wouldn’t know what to do,” he said.
(EVERYBODY’S DOIN THE TOXIC WALTZ!!!)
Souza also told us his top 5 all time horror favorites which include:
5) The Omen
3) Frankenstein
2) Dracula
1) The Exorcist
Souza lamented that these days a lot of films are lacking the atmosphere and creepyness of the sets that the classics had in the golden age of film. The films these days have a hard time setting the creepy factor. He said that there are a couple films these days that do it right, for example the Babadook and A Girl who Walks Home Alone at Night.
You can listen to the interview below. Souza talks about the influence of horror on his music and his picks for an epic Halloween concert lineup. The best part of the whole experience was how down to earth and cool Steve Souza was the whole time. He is a huge horror fan and his enthusiasm for the darkness that terrifies us seemed to bridge the gap between epic metal royalty and a kid who grew up with a dust filled mouth in Ramona California.
Also be sure to get a copy of their new album Blood in Blood Out on Nuclear Blast Records.
