Former EXODUS frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza has broken his silence with regards to his departure from the group
"I would like to say first of all, that leaving EXODUS was a very hard decision to make. I really wanted everything to work out in the long run. But lots of things came between us. Back when Paul [baloff] died, I stepped in as a favor to the band, who had prior commitments and shows already booked. At that point in time, I was willing to play these shows, but was still reluctant to rejoin the band on a full-time basis. After these shows, I realized that I still really enjoyed performing and playing the live shows. I then decided to give EXODUS a second go at it. We recorded the album and it was a great record. I thought it was my best performance and work of my entire career.
"Now came the touring, and juggling a family, a full-time job, and EXODUS… It was never easy on me. In fact, while being on tour, I loved playing live on stage to our great fans around the world. But that was only a small part of being on the road, for it's a long day, every day out there. Too much time in between shows to think about my family back home. I have three wonderful kids and a great wife, which were miles away from me. And I still had many social and financial worries, with way too much time to think about everything while away from home during the downtime in between shows on the road.
"I am the sole provider for my family, before ever stepping back in full-time to the band. But I still had to work full-time at my job to support my family. And not to mention taking care of my family and the obligations of being a father.
"My family will always come first. And after my family, my job which pays all the bills was second on my list. And unfortunately my music had to become number three.