Steve "Zetro" Souza (born March 24, 1964) is an American musician, best known for his work as lead vocalist with

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

from 1986 to 1994, and again from 2002 to 2004. He rejoined Exodus for a third time in 2014. Souza is one of two singers, along with

Chuck Billy Charles Billy (born June 23, 1962) is an American singer who is best known as the lead vocalist for thrash metal band Testament. Career Testament Billy joined Legacy in 1986, replacing vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza who would later join Exod ...

, for the band

Dublin Death Patrol Dublin Death Patrol (DDP) is an American thrash metal band formed in 2006 by Testament singer Chuck Billy and Exodus singer Steve Souza. The band began as a seven-piece with Souza and Billy on vocals, Billy's brother Andy, Greg Bustamante and ...

. He also sings for the thrash metal band Tenet and was the lead singer for the thrash metal band Legacy (later known as Testament). In 2011, Souza announced his new project,

Hatriot Hatriot is an American thrash metal band formed in 2011 by former singer Steve "Zetro" Souza (Exodus) and guitarist Kosta Varvatakis. The band's current lineup includes Kosta V and Miguel Esparza on guitars, Souza's sons, Cody Souza on bass an ...

. He stepped down as the frontman of the band in 2015, leaving the role of lead vocals to his son, Cody.

Biography

Legacy/Testament

Before singing for Exodus, he was the lead singer for the band Legacy (which became Testament after his departure), recording and writing most of The Legacy demo. At the time of his departure from Legacy, he introduced

to Legacy members and joined Exodus.

Exodus

Souza is best known for his stints in Exodus, for whom he sang between 1986 and 1994 (when they broke up) after being brought in to replace

Paul Baloff Paul Baloff (April 25, 1960 – February 2, 2002) was an American singer, best known as the original lead vocalist of the thrash metal band Exodus. He was shortly fired from Exodus after the release of the band's 1985 debut album ''Bonded by B ...

. Exodus was disbanded about two years after the release of ''

Force of Habit ''Force of Habit'' is the fifth studio album by American thrash metal band Exodus (American band), Exodus, released on August 25, 1992 by Capitol Records. The sound of this album was a departure from the band's previous albums, focusing on a ra ...

''. He later rejoined the reformed Exodus from 2002 to 2004. He again parted ways with the band during their South American tour later in 2004; according to Holt, Zetro bailed from the tour just as the tour was about to start. This caused the split to be fairly hostile; in retrospect, Zetro has admitted the blame for the circumstances, saying that it was his discontent at the time that caused the problems.

Thrash Against Cancer

Souza hosted the Thrash Against Cancer benefit in 2005 at The Pound in San Francisco, and appears onstage with Testament every time they play the Bay Area.

Dublin Death Patrol

In 2006, he and

formed

, an American thrash metal band. Alongside Willy Lange (

Lȧȧz Rockit Lȧȧz Rockit was an American thrash metal band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1981. They are most notable for their association with the Bay Area thrash metal scene of the 1980s, and they are considered to be one of the scene's so ca ...

). In 2007, they went on a world tour and did

Fields of Rock Fields of Rock is a Dutch rock music festival. It was first conceived in 2002. Metallica's agent called, announcing that the band was planning to tour the Netherlands, and Metallica wanted to do a festival. At that point in time there really wa ...

in the Netherlands alongside Heaven & Hell,

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...

Black Label Society Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three vid ...

Hatebreed Hatebreed is an American hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album '' Satisfaction is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universal Records ...

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

, Papa Roach, Slayer,

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

Velvet Revolver Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of punk b ...

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stor ...

, Amon Amarth,

DragonForce DragonForce are a British power metal band from London, England. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, and are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced ...

Ill Niño Ill Niño (stylized as ill niño) is an American metal band formed in Union City, New Jersey, in 1998 by drummer and percussionist Dave Chavarri. They have released seven studio albums, two EPs and one compilation album, totaling in over 1.3 mi ...

, and

DevilDriver DevilDriver is an American heavy metal band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 2002, consisting of vocalist Dez Fafara, lead guitarist Mike Spreitzer, drummer Davier Pérez, bassist Jon Miller and rhythm guitarist Alex Lee. The band was ...

Tenet

In August 2008, Souza became the lead singer for the metal band TENET along with members

Byron Stroud Byron Stroud (born February 12, 1969) is a Canadian bassist. He is the former bassist for metal bands Fear Factory, Imonolith and Strapping Young Lad, current bassist for metal bands City of Fire and Zimmers Hole, and studio bassist for 3 In ...

(

Strapping Young Lad Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, '' Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing ...

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. ...

, Zimmer's Hole),

Jed Simon Jedson Louis Simon (born February 27, 1964) is a Canadian musician. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, and TENET. He is ...

(Strapping Young Lad, Zimmer's Hole),

Glen Alvelais Glen Alvelais (born February 22, 1968) is an American heavy metal guitarist from the San Francisco Bay Area. He was the lead guitarist for the thrash metal band Forbidden and has also played in Testament. Career Forbidden Alvelais joined ...

( Testament, Forbidden) and

Gene Hoglan Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...

(

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Unearth Unearth is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 1998, the group has released seven studio albums. History Early career (1998–2002) Unearth was formed by Trevor Phipps, Buz McGrath, Ken Susi, Mike Rudberg, an ...

Dethklok Dethklok is a fictional melodic death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated television series ''Metalocalypse''. The first official Dethklok album was released on September 25, 2007, entitled '' The Dethalbum''. The album debuted at n ...

, Dark Angel, Testament, Zimmer's Hole,

Old Man's Child Old Man's Child is a Norwegian black metal band from the city of Oslo. The band is the brainchild of Galder (formerly known as Grusom; birth name: Thomas Rune Andersen) who is the only permanent member of the band. History Old Man's Child was ...

). The album was eventually released in July 2009.

Hatriot

Souza, along with fellow members Kosta Varvatakis, Justin Sakagawa, and his two sons Nicholas Souza and Cody Souza, started a thrash metal project called Hatriot. Hatriot released their debut album, ''Heroes of Origin'', on January 25, 2013. The group's second album, ''Dawn of the New Centurion'', was released on February 21, 2014 via Massacre Records. Steve eventually left Hatriot due to Exodus touring duties in 2015 and was succeeded by his son Cody.

Return to Exodus

On June 8, 2014, it was announced that Souza had rejoined Exodus. He appeared on Exodus' tenth studio album '' Blood In, Blood Out'', which is his first album with the band since 2004's '' Tempo of the Damned''.

Style

Souza's voice is reminiscent of

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

's former vocalist

Bon Scott Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. Born in Forfar in Angus, Scotlan ...

, and can be heard on the AC/DC covers that

recorded, including "Overdose" on 1989's ''

Fabulous Disaster ''Fabulous Disaster'' is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Exodus. It was released on January 30, 1989 on the UK label Music for Nations, while the US version was released on Combat/Relativity Records. In 1999, Century Medi ...

'', and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" on 2004's '' Tempo of the Damned''.

Personal life

His nickname "Zetro" comes from a cartoon

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

he saw in high school. In a July 2018 interview, Souza called himself a supporter of President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, as he cites the low unemployment rate and the meetings with

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n leader

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

being beneficial to the country. Regarding Kim, Zetro mentioned: "I think that's great – that's what you need to do. People need to touch together, not do it through channels".

Discography

With Testament

* ''Legacy Demo'' (1985) * ''

The Legacy The Legacy may refer to: * '' Le Legs'' or ''The Legacy'', a play by Pierre de Marivaux * The Legacy (professional wrestling), a former professional wrestling faction in World Wrestling Entertainment * ''The Legacy'' (album), an album by Testament ...

'' (1987) (credited for writing six out of nine of the songs, but did not perform) * ''

First Strike Still Deadly ''First Strike Still Deadly'' is the ninth studio album by Testament, released in 2001. It consists of re-recorded songs released on ''The Legacy'' and '' The New Order'', as well as a re-recording of "Reign of Terror", which was originally on ...

'' (2001) (provides vocals for re-recordings of "Alone in the Dark" and "Reign of Terror")

With Exodus

* ''

Pleasures of the Flesh ''Pleasures of the Flesh'' is the second studio album by the American thrash metal band Exodus. Released in 1987, it is the group's first album to feature Steve Souza on vocals after Paul Baloff was fired from the band. The record was remastere ...

'' (1987) * ''

'' (1989) * '' Impact Is Imminent'' (1990) * ''

Good Friendly Violent Fun ''Good Friendly Violent Fun'' is a live album by American thrash metal band Exodus. The performance on this live album was from the band's 1989 tour, but not released until two years later. The name is derived from a lyric found in the Exodus son ...

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1992) * '' Tempo of the Damned'' (2004) * '' Blood In, Blood Out'' (2014) * '' Persona Non Grata'' (2021)

With Dublin Death Patrol

* ''

DDP 4 Life ''DDP 4 Life'' is the debut album from Dublin Death Patrol, a thrash metal band formed by Testament vocalist Chuck Billy and Exodus vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza and released on April 13, 2007. Track listing #R.I.P. – 2:43 #Unnatural Causes � ...

'' (2007) * ''Death Sentence'' (2012)

With Tenet

*''Sovereign'' (2009)

With Hatriot

* ''Heroes of Origin'' (2013) * ''Dawn of the New Centurion'' (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Steve 1964 births American male singers American heavy metal singers American people of Portuguese descent California Republicans Exodus (American band) members Living people