Thrash veterans Exodus just released their 10th album, Blood In Blood Out, on Oct. 14th and this disc features the return of vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza, who last recorded with Exodus on their 2004 disc, Tempo of the Damned. What is interesting is that original Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett also guests on this album with a solo on “Salt The Wound”. Slayer, Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies are out together on a fall tour and the closest the tour geta to NYC is a show at Wellmont Theater in NJ on November 29th.

What many people may not know is that Zetro is pulling double-duty as he is also the vocalist of Hatriot, a Bay-area thrash band which includes Zetro’s two sons in the lineup. Earlier this year, Hatriot released its sophomore disc, Dawn of the New Centurion, on Massacre Records.

This disc is exactly what you would expect from Zetro and crew – nine tracks (50 minutes) of hard-hitting, heavy thrash. This disc starts off with "From My Cold Dead Hands" which opens with Charleton Heston’s speech to the NRA and follows this with a slow build that will get a crowd into the pit waiting for the explosion. Hatriot doesn’t disappoint as the thrash kicks in with Zetro’s sneering, spat vocals, cross-over guitar riffs that straddle the border between speed metal and thrash and a gang vocal chorus. Across this disc, the music is punctuated by surprisingly clean production which emphasizes Hatriot’s sonic attack and, lyrically, Hatriot are pissed off about the state of the world, the hypocrisy of organized religion (check out the scathing 7+ minute “Silence in the House of the Lord”), etc. and aren’t afraid to call out the abuses that they see. The band even calls to free Pussy Riot at the end of “Superkillafragsadisticactsaresoatrocious”.

The band doesn’t stray far from their crossover thrash core, but Dawn of the New Centurion contains some complex variations on this core. “The Fear Within”, which is 7+ minutes long, is a hard rock/power metal number with a bit of doom metal thrown into the mix. This track starts with a slow burning opening and features clean, melodic guitar lines. This song then brings on gang vocals in an almost call-and-response counterpoint to Zetro’s vocals, slows radically toward the end for an introspective moment before picking back up for a boot stomping finish. “World Funeral” is a schizophrenic metal number with an aggressive gang vocal opening and some shredding riffs.



Links:
Hatriot