‘Ole Steve “Zetro” Souza shot himself in the foot right out of the gate with this one, doing a full-court press to the press that he would re-join Exodus in a heartbeat, all the while trying to get the very stupidly-named Hatriot off the ground. This boneheaded move essentially sucked any sort of validity out of Hatriot almost instantly, serving it up as one of those half-assed reclamation projects that will probably sputter out after a few albums. They shouldn’t have any problem doing as such with their Heroes of Origin debut, mind you.

As a sentimental twist, the singer is joined by his sons Cody (bass) and Nick (drums), forming an unlikely thrash father/son(s) tandem. The two carry their weight, especially Nick, who proves to be a rather suitable and dependable thrash drummer. All the kid has to do is lay down some polka-beats anyway, but he’s got some cool grooves going on during “Blood Stained Wings” and “And Your Children to be Damned.” The rest of the album reads like a sub-Exodus album, just without the bone-crushing riffs and agile arrangements Gary Holt has made a living out of.

Zetro has always been a take-it or leave-it vocalist, and he’s no different in Hatriot. Given that he was the obvious weak link during the Fabulous Disaster and Impact is Imminent days, Zetro’s recognizable vocal style has aged remarkably well. However, that doesn’t stop him from going overboard on opener “Suicide Run” as well as the anti-American “Weapons of Class Destruction” and “Murder American Style.” His cackle has never been a one-size-fits-all proposition, that’s all. Once you hear a few lines from the man, that’s all you need, and on Heroes of Origin, the thrash is thrust to the back, leaving the vocals the point of emphasis.

With the sizable advantage of having a bona fide name in their ranks, Hatriot should have no problem making the Euro festival rounds, or even engaging in some light touring across the pond. There’s no way they’ll make up ground to Exodus though, something that was readily apparent from the word go.

[Visit the band's website]

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