Hatriot – From Days unto Darkness

Share this on Facebook | Share this on Twitter

Bay Area, San Francisco is the notorious hotspot of where most would argue that Thrash Metal became what it is. Bands like METALLICA, MEGADETH and SLAYER laid down the groundwork while bands like TESTAMENT and EXODUS thrived right behind them. Which brings me to HATRIOT, and not veering off the beaten path these guys are a relatively newer face to the scene and seem to be holding it together pretty well.

Starting off the brainchild of Steve “Zetro” Souza (EXODUS) these Thrash maniacs put out two full-lengths and an EP. Now that he’s no longer in the band, he passed the torch over to his sons Cody and Nick Souza. If you put the two vocalists back to back, I’d say it’d be pretty difficult to differentiate the two most of the time, but I digress. They sound a lot like their father.

With the start of a relatively long album, around 55 minutes, you are hit with what seems to be the strong suit of the band: the guitar solos. “One Less Hell”  starts with an ominous opening into just a sheer savage solo straight into the riffs. While it does seem like your average, run-of-the-mill Thrash riff, there is a slight edge that these guys bring to the table that make it more than that. With this being one of the heavier songs on the album, it’s a great opener to get you accustomed to what these guys are all about.

Some of the off-putting things about this album are some of the lyrical content and just names of songs in general. For instance, “Carnival of Execution” or “Frankenstein Must Die” just seem like silly names that I think could put off some listeners. Both of these songs are also a little on the generic side. But with that being said, they aren’t necessarily bad songs.

Although those aforementioned things are a little unusual you wouldn’t think you’d hear philosophical lyrics in Thrash. I’d say the lyrics are comparable to that of EXODUS or MEGADETH. So, they didn’t stray too far off. Also, the production is great if not too clean. I know that can sound like a weird thing to say but some things sound better with a raw kind of sound that I think could complement these guys greatly.

Overall this is a solid album that I think is catchy enough to capture a lot of people's attention. The riffs are very tight with the solos being absolute face-melters. Definitely on the right track to attract more attention to themselves with this release. It doesn’t live in the shadows of  Steve “Zetro” Souza, but it breaks out to give us a good Thrash Metal release.

Songwriting: 8
Originality: 5
Memorability: 7
Production: 6