Dawn of the New Centurion

Heroes of Origin may not have been a classic thrash album but it definitely turned a lot of heads in 2013. The union of thrash legend Steve "Zetro" Sousa and four twenty-somethings (two of whom are his sons) is an intriguing one and seemed to fill the void for those who wanted the pre-Dukes Exodus sound. Hatriot's sophomore effort may have been overshadowed by Zetro's return to his alma mater, but it offers some worthwhile metal for having been released so quickly.

While Hatriot's evolution between albums isn't as dramatic as the shift between Kill Em All and Ride the Lightning, Dawn of the New Centurion does show some new elements The songwriting is more complex as songs like "Silence In The House Of The Lord" and the title track have more elaborate structures while "The Fear Within" has some melodic segments that add a suspenseful flair. The gang vocals also beefed up in a year and give a strong Chuck Billy flavor to songs like "From My Cold Dead Hands" and "World Funeral." In this sense, the album feels more like a Testament offshoot than anything Exodus has come up with lately.

Of course, this is the same band even with the changes in place. The guitars and drums retain their intensity, the bass gets some prominent spots, and the production has the same clean tinge. The contributions of a man like Zetro are also unmistakeable with his shrieks at their usual pitch and the lyrics showcasing the same mix of politics, violence, and silly, silly puns. I don't think even Paul Baloff himself would come up with a title like "Superkillafragsadisticactsaresoatrocious." Probably for good reason...

The changes do result in more interesting songs than before but the writing isn't quite as catchy as the Heroes Of Origin material. The choruses of the longer songs are oddly the most memorable and thrashers like "Your Worst Enemy" will get your head going, but there aren't as many riffs that'll truly grab your attention. That said, this release does grow on you and takes a few more listens to get into compared to its predecessor.

And with that, Dawn Of The New Centurion is a solid thrash album that may offer a couple of Hatriot's best songs but falls a little short of the debut. It has some cool ideas and the band still has a lot of potential to get even better under Zetro's leadership. Let's just hope he doesn't leave them high and dry now that he's got his old gig back...

Highlights:
"The Fear Within"
"Superkillafragsadisticactsaresoatrocious"
"Silence In The House Of The Lord"
"World Funeral"
"Dawn of the New Centurion"

Originally published at http://psychicshorts.blogspot.com

Few outlets for unfettered rage work better than thrash metal, and it's been a particularly useful therapy for longtime vocalist and Bay Area extraordinaire Zetro Souza, who's input into the formative works of Legacy (aka pre-Chuck Billy Testament) and much of Exodus' seminal output needs no further introduction. While his latest fold Hatriot doesn't make any secrets of its stylistic throwback tendencies, it is noteworthy for not shying away from the occasional modern influence, though to a lesser degree than recent Testament offerings. Suffice to say, Zetro might be spending a little too much time watching the news and needs to vent, hence the raging fist to the skull of a thrash album that is "Dawn Of The New Centurion". Though mired by an overly zealous affirmation of the "noise wars" approach to album production and an all but one-dimensional assault on the eardrums that avoids any pretense of subtlety, this is definitely more of what the hungry masses that wanted something slightly more old school than "Tempo Of The Damned" are looking for.

As stated previously, this is an album built off a perhaps too acute awareness of current events, not all that far removed from much of the politically charged material that was flowing out of both San Fransisco and New York between 1989-1991. Few stones are left unturned from the recent and arguably over-publicized mass shootings and the political upheaval surrounding them, to the antics of Russia's least favorite and America's most favorite band of feminist trolls Pussy Riot. However, while the lyrical content might annoy the hell out of somebody who wants their violence devoid of any ideological bent, the music definitely takes care of business in the usual methodical fashion. In contrast to the last outing of Overkill, the one long-winded epic is saved until closer to the middle of the album, but "The Fear Within" definitely makes its presence known with a slower, groovier character that almost beckons the mind back to the mid-80s Metallica format.

Be this as it may, the listening experience on here definitely leans towards the more extreme side of the thrash coin, where even slightly slower numbers like the title song "Dawn Of The New Centurion" spills over with venomous anger. Much of this is due to Zetro's newly adopted snarl vocal approach, which has some elements of the Blitz Ellsworth approach, but also a slight helping of early death metal elements. Additional death metal vocals filter in and out a few of these songs, and there's even an auspicious blast beat thrown in with about the same suddenness as the one featured on Testament's "Dark Roots Of Earth". But in contrast to said album, here things are decidedly more up tempo, ripping out a series of high octane crushers in the mold of "From My Cold Dead Hands" and "Honor The Rise And Fall" that wreck the neck about as quick and mercilessly as the good old late 80s when Exodus was still in the throws of thrash orthodoxy.

There's not really anything to complain about with an album like this, though it tends to go right through the listener like a nice plate of Chinese food. The songs tend to run together a bit, and most of the points of contrast are found within the fleeting intros and interludes that function as place markers amid the barrage of pummeling guitars and morose shouts. It's definitely not for any lack of competency and execution on the parts of each individual player, but more a collective outcome in the songwriting department. It doesn't have quite the same level of staying power as "Heroes Of Origin", to speak nothing for "Pleasures Of The Flesh" or "Fabulous Disaster", but it definitely gets the job done and will show no mercy while it's playing. Nevertheless, it's worth hearing for anyone looking for a partial, but not quite total throwback to the same well that Gama Bomb, Violator and Fueled By Fire have been drawing from.

Every metal head should know Steve "Zetro" Sousa who was the vocalist who put Exodus on the map back in the 80s. Who can forget his screaming vocals from "Toxic Waltz?" I actually saw him in Exodus back in '89 with Antrax and Helloween. Although I wasn't the biggest fan of Exodus, I always admired their aggression and ability to play textbook thrash. So let's fast forward to 2014 and here we have the second album by Hatriot, a band put together by Zetro that also contains his two sons, Cody on bass and Nick on the drums. Now some call this retro-thrash but how can you call this retro when the driving force behind this band was actually there "back in the day?" This is thrash and thrash done right!

It appears that Sousa's politics are showing on the opener "My Cold Dead Hands" using the infamous speech by actor/former NRA president Charlton Heston as the song's intro. Politics aside, this is angry fuckin' thrash. The riffs are monstrous and ballsy. The guitar work is worthy of much praise as the youngsters that Sousa recruited to play in his band are definitely a nod to the old school. The solos are actually done with technical brilliance as well as class to bring a touch of melody to this thrash metal onslaught. Sousa's vocals sound like '89 all over again. He hasn't lost a thing in his vocals, which is amazing since he sings with so much aggression while sounding like he's gargling on broken glass. This is a great way to open a thrash album, fast, angry and aggressive...and he ends the album the same way with the closer "Consolation for the Insane." And whoever pissed him off on "Your Worst Enemy" better watch his ass because Zetro is PISSED on this song and that makes for some killer thrash! This is another riff fest that forces you at gun point to bang your head. Once again, the solos are done so well.

Obviously growing up with Steve "Zetro" Sousa as your dad you already know what thrash metal is but it is also apparent that the remainder of youngsters that Sousa has found really know what true thrash metal is. As I said before, this is not retro anything, this is the real deal. Sousa's former band mates should take note here because this blows away anything Exodus has done recently. The musicianship of this band is to be commended as they are tight and everything is perfectly timed. The production is meaty and has HUGE balls, as thrash should be. Not every song is fast and furious but that takes nothing away from the aggression and the music itself. "Honor the Rise and Fall" is a mid paced thrasher that is not all speed and fury but kicks your teeth in nonetheless. More amazing guitar work and the Sousa brother's rhythm section is just perfect. Then there is "Superkillafragsadisticactsaresoatrocious"...what the fuck is that? However, this is another angry thrash song that is probably the weakest song on the album but is still just crushing even if the title is a bit odd.

As with most trash songs, the lyrical content is very political and songs like "Silence in the House of the Lord" which touches on the topic of pedophile priests only make for good angry thrash. Steve is angry on this song as well and his vocals let you know he's pissed off. The riffs are crushing and the solos are simply amazing. This is a longer song, as is "The Fear Within" and the title track, all clocking in just over seven minutes. But given that the songs are so well written they do not become stale. They are epic thrash if there ever was such an animal, especially the title track. Once again, Sousa's vocals shine here. As long as he's been in (and out of) the game you would have thought he would have lost some of the youth in his voice but not here. He is in top form sounding like he did back in the 80s. He's here to kick your ass...plain and simple. The title track may be my favorite on the album. The song is just crushing and the solos are fucking godly.

So there may be a retro-thrash movement going on out there but this band isn't part of that. These boys were taught what thrash truly is by someone who was instrumental in the movement in it's heyday. I actually thought the first album was just a fluke and that they couldn't continue like this but now I believe that this band is in it for real and will continue to kick my ass for years to come. I'm excited to hear what comes next.


http://elitistmetalhead.blogspot.com/

The second full-length effort from retro-thrashers Hatriot, ‘Dawn of the New Centurion,’ is yet a second strong, powerful offering from what might be the best retro thrash act in the scene and continues their march to global devastation nicely.

Almost like their repeating their earlier effort, the prevailing sound from the group is ripping, impeccable old-school style thrash metal with the inclusion of modern production aesthetics and intensity. The fact that this record, much like the first, is so guitar-dominant in terms of focusing around strong riffing and a solid selection towards keeping the songs based around unique, creative guitar riffs shows their old-school sleeve quite well with the songs based around such elements in the past, only here the band takes the patterns and rhythms founded back in the day and pumps them up with more adrenaline, viciousness and bile with far more modern practices at their disposal, allowing the songs to create an extra sense of brutality than would otherwise be at hand. The songs here are also kept at the faster ends of the spectrum which keeps the songs bristling forth at frantic paces and tempos within, showing the band to have a firm grasp on the genre as the album hurtles along at impeccable speeds with the tempos slowed down only for important factors like quiet, moody intros or selected bouts of extended, mid-tempo patterns that seem perfectly suited for live work with memorable melodies, heavy patterns and plenty of vocal fireworks. Frankly, this makes for far more dynamic and memorable passages than most retro bands attempt nowadays for there’s a series of raging, high-speed sections nestled comfortably alongside atmospheric-laden melodic segments, creating an even greater effect where it comes as a natural buffer with the difference being quite drastic due to the intensity of the normal material. Another strong facet utilized here is the bands’ obvious guitar skill in terms of leads and solos, which are exploited to their most tasteful best here with a series of tight, aggressive and technically skilled soloing that really speaks volumes to their ability and desire to showcase their talents here, as well as the band’s ability to shoehorn that talent into the songs. As predicted before with the band’s lone experimental offering on the first album bearing progressive, extended elements that were still a key component to the individual sound they created is extrapolated here with the songs offering lengthy intros, extended guitar solos and more involved patterns that stretches out the songs to longer lengths and are appropriately fleshed-out to provide more enjoyment here beyond simply riffing away for a few extra minutes. All in all, these make the guitars one of the overall highlights of this album.

Of course, as benefits the bands’ figure-head, the real highlight is the severe, vicious vocal lashings from thrash legend Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza, who is in perhaps the best position necessary to provide a series of strong vocals over the impressive materials. His seething bile and aggressive tone are never utilized to greater perfection than the numerous offerings he spits out here, whether it’s hoarse yells, acidic mid-range patterns or melodic croons, a greater range than most of his other offerings have ever given him as he perfectly complements equally dynamic music engineered for his unique voice. Following the choppy rhythms to perfection or just hoarsely shouting his ominous warnings of the dystopic future for the human race, there’s a large amount of fun listening to Souza let loose here and this undoubtedly will rank high on his all-time greatest works when it’s all said and done. A fun secondary tactic employed with the vocals on select tracks is the use of gang-backing shouts which usually flip between either low death-metal grunting or hardcore-inspired group shouts and this makes for a few fun melodies throughout which connects the old-school with the new in a different manner. Surrounding himself with an appropriate band that is absolutely killer in all regards is imperative in keeping this from feeling like a solo effort and more of a true band-feeling, which is what’s on display here. The guitars are of course a strong, strong highlight but the bass work on this also deserves special mention, as it’s utilized a lot throughout the album and makes for a solid showing throughout. Blaring away in complex patterns with a thumping energy, barging through the other instruments to make itself known on the track or rumbling along with its thick, heavy grooves and weight complexion, this is about as dynamic and varied the bass has been worked over on most modern thrash records and makes no doubt of its presence in the material throughout, which is saying something for the guitars are a serious highlight here. As well, the album is befitted with a strong, powerful drumming performance that adds far more modern tendencies into the more traditionally-sounding patterns, with far more double-bass fills, pounding patterns and choppy rhythms that seem lifted from more intense bands than the most extreme thrash act ever utilized which merges the two sections really nicely and makes this whole album all the more retro sounding as the old-school material from the guitars is placed alongside non-traditional drumming for a powerful dynamic that really serves the album well.

As a whole, the album doesn’t really have too many differences between its two sections and really seems to flow together nicely. The fact that there’s several tracks with sampled intros is actually quite appropriate here with the fact that there’s not just the usual intro track that contains the sample to get everything up to speed for the listener in regards to where the bands’ going to, but rather this one decides on several which makes for quite a unique result for tactic is spread out over both halves quite nicely so it’s not just up-loaded up front or featured once and never followed through with. The two manage to get equally intense, up-tempo selections in addition to fine mid-tempo selections throughout the album which is where the majority of the tracks here reside which is quite an accomplished feat which merges the two halves together effortlessly with no real glaring differences between patterns, tempos or variations. This is far more accomplished than the first half which clearly had the bigger, faster tracks uploaded to the front-half while the second was a lot more energetic mid-tempo works so this might have a slightly more intense lean towards the first half, but overall this is incredibly solid and coherent in terms of feeling a part of one collective effort. The one minor difference between these two albums is the minute, near-indecipherable quality in the lead single, which the last effort had but this one curiously lacks. There’s no track here that screams to be ready-made for the masses in terms of exposure to the band and album, but which was done last time around and certainly provided the band with one of its best highlights throughout the strong collection of songs. This is a minor point that really doesn’t seem to be of much use anyway since the album is just a furious blast of thrash throughout and really doesn’t need a single to boost itself up any more than the material currently presented here will do by itself, but a strange quality that was present in one album that seems missing on a follow-up is a slight point off on what’s an otherwise remarkable effort.

In terms of songs, as mentioned earlier, it’s all pretty coherent and mixed together rather well. Intro ‘From My Cold Dead Hands,’ ‘The Fear Within’ and the title track are more in-line with the experimental progressive elements taken from the last album with multi-sectioned epics boasting numerous tempo changes from tight, voracious patterns with mid-tempo chugs, pounding drumming and hard-edged rhythms that effectively switch from intense efforts with tight riffing to more spacious melodies augmented by deep vocal grunts alongside the raspy cleans as the intense energy keeps moving throughout the extended solo section with choppy drumming, stylized guitar patterns and a quiet finale, though each one has unique features about them as the first one has a sampled vocal intro slowly gives way to slow-building drumming and majestic guitar riffing, ‘Fear’ is more quiet, ominous guitars and moody tones with thunderous, dexterous drumming slowly build into mid-paced riff-work and the title track offers slow, haunting intro with moody guitar riffs and build-up drumming gradually turns into solid, storming mid-tempo effort with tight guitars offering up moody atmospheric trinkling alongside the harder rhythms with blistering drumming in the tighter sections and plodding patterns in the atmospheric sections which flow effortlessly and continuously within each other before turning back into a thrashing maelstrom at the halfway point. In turn, tracks like ‘Your Worst Enemy,’ ‘Superkillafragsadisticactsaresoatrocious’ and ‘Consolation for the Insane’ tend to be the album’s resident manic thrashers, mostly built around thumping bass-intros with pounding drumming and pulsing up-tempo pace with jagged guitars and urgent bass-lines scrambling throughout the up-tempo pace as the stuttering drumming makes for a chaotic series of rhythms that blur the riffing into blinding patterns of scattershot patterns and chords throughout the first half while the more restrained and atmospheric second half flows into a rocking mid-tempo solo section with extended patterns, thunderous drumming and pounding bass-work throughout with a return to the stuttering, mid-tempo pace for the finale, just varying slightly in terms of intensity and thrashing speed. ‘World Funeral’ is an absolute blast of brutal riffing, gang shouts and frenzied drumming that carries itself quite well among the more traditionally-patterned songs on here, and finally the two more melodic tracks, ‘Honor the Rise and Fall’ and ‘Silence in the House of the Lord,’ both come off as quite same-sounding with their lighter rhythms, mid-tempo paces and soaring guitar melodies that are a little more restrained against the other tracks and do suffer ever so slightly due to those features, but are overall quite serviceable enough.

Whatever the cause is behind this sudden explosion of high-quality material this late in his career, Souza needs to keep distilling it’s sources for he’s now responsible for two absolutely masterful albums right out of the gate in this project and the bar is set incredibly high already for whatever else he has to offer in the future. This is about as close to topping the original as it can get even if it falls short in one key area, as that one had the ready-made single that still kept the spirit of the other tracks in perfect order while this one doesn’t, but such a quibble is merely nit-picking at an otherwise impressive and enjoyable experience. Fans of his other works are highly, highly encouraged to seek this out while any true, ardent thrash fan worth his effort should pick this up immediately.

I am not necessarily privy to the manic reasoning behind Souza's sudden political stance(s), but if his continued musical output requires such a passionate means of egress, I'm confident that few will have a problem with Hatriot's anarchist leanings. While Exodus' 2001 reunion hardly played out as originally conceived, Tempo of the Damned is still hailed as a great comeback album and example of bruising, modern thrash executed at it's most gritty and visceral. Sadly, things began to fall apart for Exodus soon afterward, with Souza's second departure giving way to the lackluster Rob Dukes and generating a grand bifurcation in the fan base.

Having cut and run amidst the resurgence of the familial demons that plagued much of Exodus' classic lineup (namely drugs), Souza wisely laid low and patiently waited as his own flesh and blood became suitable for conscription into Hatriot's front line ranks. As such, three-fifths of the lineup on Dawn of the New Centurion is Souza blood, a bloodline that surges with some sort of primal ferocity tailor-made for the thrash metal arena. Nick in particular proves that the drum throne he occupies is one to be envied, merging Ron Lipnicki's precision with Tom Hunting's raw speed on the double-bass. Despite the relatively green status of most of this young lineup, the Hatriot crew manages to bust out Tempo of the Damned-styled modern thrash even more convincingly than the Bay Area act they so shamelessly (and expectedly) draw influence from!

As such, it is no surprise that much of Dawn of the New Centurion's material is delivered in a largely mid-paced, fisticuff style that was popularized by Exodus in the late '80s - only this time supplemented by a chunky modern tone that adds some sizable heft to the proceedings. What it lacks in speed it surely makes up for in vitriol and piss & vinegar posturing on the part of Souza's impish inflection. While his gruff, syllable-spewing taunts are as technically impressive as ever, age has added another layer of abrasiveness to his voice. It is almost as if his vocal chords have been weathered using a coarser grit of sandpaper than before, effortlessly selling the material on their own.

Souza is naturally the gem here, and the rest of Hatriot has their hands full just trying to keep up with him. Varvatakis and Cole are hardly the second coming of the "H" team, but they still have the incendiary thrash architecture down pat, with an affinity for screaming, diving solos and the use of dextrous picking hands. The modern influences cut the deepest regarding the guitar performances, with head-bobbing grooves ebbing and flowing throughout the majority of the album. Occasionally the band will saunter into a full-out groove that hails back to The Killing Kind-era Overkill or Exhorder. Of course, the implementation of these modern trappings isn't without some faults. Hatriot occasionally feels the need to play up their melodic disposition akin to the way Kreator reinvented themselves with Enemy of God. Much of this indifference manifests itself around "The Fear Within", which contains a few too many sappy melodic hooks and lachrymose stylings to fit cleanly onto a thrash record. This flaw attempts to resurface periodically during the title track and opener "From My Cold Dead Hands", but Souza's lyrical antics help snag the spotlight away from Hatriot's few deficiencies.

While the rest hardly razes the landscape on it's own, what remains of Dawn of the New Centurion is certainly well-produced and professionally executed. Fans of Tempo of the Damned bruisers like "Sealed with a Fist" or "Blacklist" will find several repackaged variants of those songs here delivered in a more compact manner. Hatriot clearly runs circles around the Dukes-led Exodus lineup, and other than a lack of variation and adherence to one too many modern influences, Dawn of the New Centurion has it where it counts and avoids becoming the "Zetro Variety Hour" thanks to his impressive squad of up-and-comers.