San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans EXODUS have set "Blood In, Blood Out" as the title of their new album, tentatively due on late October via Nuclear Blast. The CD will be the band's first since the departure of EXODUS' lead singer of the past nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of his predecessor, Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

"I'm very excited to be back," Souza told Chile's Radio Futuro on Tuesday (July 8). "I'm really looking forward to this next adventure with my brothers in metal — these guys I spent 30 years with, on and off. So it's very exciting."

San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans EXODUS will release their new album, "Blood In, Blood Out", on October 14 via Nuclear Blast. The album art was illustrated by Swedish artist Pär Olofsson, known worldwide for his incredible renderings that have graced the covers of countless heavy metal albums, including EXODUS' "Let There Be Blood".

The concept for the art was impressively envisaged by Olofsson based on the album title alone, as guitarist Gary Holt explains: "The concept came from Pär Olofsson. I fed him the title and he immediately came up with the final concept, and it's perfect! One of my favorite covers we've ever done and it fits the title and theme to a T!"

"Blood In, Blood Out" will be EXODUS' first since the departure of the band's lead singer of the past nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of his predecessor, Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

"I'm very excited to be back," Souza told Chile's Radio Futuro on July 8. "I'm really looking forward to this next adventure with my brothers in metal — these guys I spent 30 years with, on and off. So it's very exciting."

Speaking about how being in EXODUS is different today than it was when he first joined the band in the '80s and even a decade ago, Souza said: "I think everybody's matured quite some bit, and I think, as we all get older, we all realize things that we do wrong, especially myself, we realize our faults and our mistakes. And it's great that everybody can come to a meeting of the minds and be able to work forward and be mature enough to work forward."

He added: "The whole reception to me being back with the guys has been really, really great."

"Blood In, Blood Out" will feature a guest appearance by METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett on the song "Salt In The Wound". "It felt really casual, really cool — just like it did back in 1980 when we were all just hanging out back in the day," Hammett told RollingStone.com. "Me, recording a solo on their album was a huge thing for me. Other than the EXODUS demo that's been heard by a lot of people, it's the only time I ever recorded with EXODUS. It was a huge thing for me."