{"id":11512,"date":"2013-02-12T00:00:13","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T00:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=11512"},"modified":"2013-05-29T23:39:03","modified_gmt":"2013-05-29T23:39:03","slug":"feature-hatriot-02-13-pt2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-hatriot-02-13-pt2\/","title":{"rendered":"HATRIOT &#8211; Weapons Of Thrash Destruction, Part Two (February 2013) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"image floatedright\">\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/hatriot2012promophoto2.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><strong><em>Hatriot (l-r): Kosta Varvatakis, Steve \u2018Zetro\u2019 Souza, Cody Souza, Nick Souza and <br \/>Miguel Esparza<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Irrespective of whether Exodus will continue to exist however, as has been stated, the vocalist would decline a potential opportunity to return to the outfit\u2019s ranks. \u201cI couldn\u2019t do it because of the timing,\u201d he reasons. \u201cIf he came up to me and said \u2018Hey Zet, we\u2019re gonna do this this tour. It\u2019s gonna be 25 dates, and it\u2019s gonna be a retro of what we did. We\u2019re gonna perform <em>Fabulous Disaster<\/em> (January 1989), <em>Pleasures Of The Flesh<\/em> (October 1987), and things like that, but it\u2019s only gonna be 25 dates,\u2019 then I would say \u2018Yes\u2019 in a minute. However, if he was to say \u2018Hey, I want you to rejoin the band. We\u2019re gonna write some songs,\u2019 then I couldn\u2019t do it. I couldn\u2019t. I\u2019ve put too much into Hatriot with these kids, and got them all going. I\u2019m not gonna screw that up, no way. The fans have been waiting too long, and I\u2019ve been waiting too long for it. That\u2019s where I am right now as far as I\u2019m concerned, definitely. Even as far as Dublin Death Patrol, people would like to see that again but I wouldn\u2019t like to do that again. That\u2019s over with, over and done. I wouldn\u2019t step back into the ring with those guys. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s time for Hatriot to reign right now, and that\u2019s where my mind is completely. Every day is Hatriot business. I\u2019m doing several interviews at the moment with various media, and it\u2019s all Hatriot man. It\u2019s all about this band that I\u2019m doing right now. This isn\u2019t a project where in 2014 I\u2019m gonna get back with Jed Simon and the guys in Tenet, and do that. I\u2019m not doing that either; I\u2019m gonna be doing Hatriot from hereon out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fact that sons Cody and Nick feature among Hatriot\u2019s ranks might be a factor in Steve\u2019s decision, but he insists that this isn\u2019t the case. \u201cI don\u2019t think that would matter, because we\u2019ve talked about the boys not playing with me anymore,\u201d he explains. \u201cI\u2019ve said \u2018If three to four records down the road you get a bigger offer \u2013 if Ozzy (Osbourne) wants to take you out or something like that \u2013 then it doesn\u2019t matter.\u2019 Honestly, Hatriot revolves around Kosta and Zet. That\u2019s who Hatriot revolves around. Those are the guys that write the songs, and set the songs up. It\u2019s a double-plus that both of my boys are in the band, it really is. For the press it\u2019s great, and for me it\u2019s awesome because I\u2019ve come full circle. It\u2019s a great thing to play thrash metal when you\u2019ve helped innovate a sound, and now you\u2019re gonna play with your kids who can play on your level. It\u2019s really, really good. My take is that even if they weren\u2019t there though, I would still probably have the same take, definitely so. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really wouldn\u2019t want to let Kosta down. I\u2019ve brought him into this, and I\u2019ve made him sacrifice other things to believe in me and listen to what I\u2019ve said, and what I can give him. He\u2019s done that, and now things have happened for him in the last year and a half musically that have never happened for him in the 24 years he\u2019s been on the Earth. That\u2019s why he\u2019s completely behind me. If I rejoined Exodus that would completely just shoot this thing dead, and I wouldn\u2019t do that to them. Everybody\u2019s worked too hard, especially myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Albeit concerned about \u2018shooting dead\u2019 the quintet, such comments sharply contrast with the fact that there was a time when the Hatriot frontman simply didn\u2019t wish to be included among the line-up of a given band. \u201cIt\u2019s not that I didn\u2019t wanna do it,\u201d he elaborates. \u201cIt was that I didn\u2019t wanna have to go through all of the hassles of \u2013 like I said \u2013 coming up with the name, having an artist design the logo, hiring players that were worthy to play on my level, finding a studio to practice in, writing songs, and just all these things that go into starting a new band. I\u2019ve done all those things before. I was very reluctant to do all that again, but as I did it and was doing it more and more, and got involved in writing the songs, I got more into it. I think it was my destiny, and I\u2019m very glad that I did. I really am, and I think that there\u2019s some force out there that got me to do this. It\u2019s worked out very well for me, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The guitar playing of Kosta is very much in the vein of Bay Area thrash metal. \u201cHe listens to a lot of different stuff, but I know everybody\u2019s gonna say Gary Holt,\u201d Steve chuckles. \u201cI\u2019m gonna say James Hetfield (Metallica guitarist \/ vocalist), I\u2019m gonna say Gary Holt, I\u2019m gonna say Dave Mustaine (<a href=\"\/site\/megadeth-articles\/\" target=\"_blank\">Megadeth<\/a> guitarist \/ vocalist). I\u2019m gonna say that he has a lot of those elements in there, but he\u2019s very much influenced by Morbid Angel and Death and that whole Florida scene as well. I guess I would describe him as a classic Bay Area thrash guitar player. That\u2019s how I would describe him.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"image floatedleft\">\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/hatriotstevesouza2012livephoto2.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><b><em>Steve \u2018Zetro\u2019 Souza<\/em><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Hatriot\u2019s inaugural line-up included guitarist Andrew Gage, who has since exited. \u201cDrew is actually doing something with Glen Alvelais I think, one of the Glen Alvelais projects,\u201d the wordsmith believes. \u201cDrew was not a happy fellow; Drew would come to practice, and be very mean to all of the other members, yell at them, stand in front of them, and say \u2018Okay, play the part.\u2019 If they played one part that he didn\u2019t like, he\u2019d get so angry at them and just say \u2018You\u2019re not playing it right. You need to go home, and practice.\u2019 He\u2019d just scream at them. It got to the point where people were dreading coming to practice. I didn\u2019t see it all of the time, because I would only go to practice for the first half an hour. It was at a point when they were writing songs, so there wasn\u2019t really anything to rehearse. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy son Cody goes to me \u2018Dad, you\u2019ve gotta come to practice.\u2019 I go \u2018Why?\u2019 He goes \u2018You\u2019ve just gotta come to practice.\u2019 About a week later, Kosta calls me and goes \u2018I quit. I\u2019m not playing in this band anymore. I can\u2019t do this&#8230; The guy\u2019s an idiot.\u2019 I went to practice, and I watched him and observed him. It was pretty bad. It was really, really bad the way he was treating everybody, and so I had to call Kosta up and say \u2018Don\u2019t quit. You and I started this thing&#8230; I\u2019ll talk to Drew.\u2019 I was like \u2018Drew, we have to move on man. The whole band wants to quit on me because of the way you talk to them and treat them. I can\u2019t have that.\u2019 He understood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A December 23rd, 2011 performance at The Avalon in Santa Clara, California marked the live Hatriot debut of replacement Miguel Esparza. \u201cMiguel was a friend of Alex\u2019,\u201d Steve informs. \u201cAlex knew him, and so he came in. It was probably three months before I just said \u2018Okay&#8230; Yeah; you\u2019ve got the gig.\u2019 His personality is very much the quiet guy \u2013 really, really quiet \u2013 and that was kind of what I was looking for. I didn\u2019t want anybody coming in, going \u2018Blah blah blah.\u2019 We had just had a guitar player who came in and berated everybody, so having a guy come in and be quiet&#8230; I loved his technique, his lead technique. He plays with his fingers on his picking hand a lot, and it\u2019s wild. It\u2019ll be just a flying lead, and you\u2019ll see him pull his pick back and do something with his fingers to the strings. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis technique is really unique, and he\u2019s really fast. When people start to see him play, they\u2019re gonna really like how he attacks his guitar playing. To me, Kosta is more of the pacier guy. He\u2019s very fast, very pacy, but Miguel is just very ferocious and very precise, and he\u2019s an awesome player. As far as writing, Kosta writes everything \u2013 all the music on <em>Heroes Of Origin<\/em> was written by Kosta. I wrote all of the lyrics obviously, but Kosta wrote all of the riffs. He puts all of the picking together, everything. He\u2019ll tell Nicholas what drum part to play and what drums he\u2019s hearing, and if he doesn\u2019t pick it up he\u2019ll get his ass behind the kit and play it. There\u2019s a lot of great musicianship in there; Miguel is very quiet. Miguel will come in and not say much, which is good because between myself, the other Souza boys, and Kosta there are enough voices in the room. It works out really well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMiguel came into the band right after the writing of the songs, but he\u2019s become very much a part of what we\u2019re doing. Everybody is. This is a really, really solid band; when you watch us play or you see us rehearse, everybody is in tune with each other. I don\u2019t know how to explain it, but everybody gets it. It\u2019s not like \u2018Oh man, you fucked that part up. How come you\u2019re not onto it?\u2019 We don\u2019t really make a statement of practising anymore. With the songs that we\u2019ve already written, they sound pretty tight every time we play them because I want professionalism from everybody always, and they know that. When they come to practice or the shows or whatever, they bring their A-game always. Always the A-game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Miguel and Kosta are both non-US citizens. \u201cKosta is Greek,\u201d the Hatriot mainman tells. \u201cHe\u2019s full Greek; his parents are from Greece and in his house they speak Greek. Miguel is Mexican, and Miguel\u2019s parents speak Spanish. I met Miguel\u2019s father at a Hatriot gig, so I guess you would have to say they\u2019re very much wrapped up in their heritage. Me and my boys are just second and third generation Portuguese-Americans, but we don\u2019t speak Portuguese \u2013 we\u2019re just Americans. Those two have the most ethnic history I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The age range of Steve\u2019s bandmates is relatively young; 24 (Kosta), 22 (Cody), 20 (Miguel), and 19 (Nick) to be exact. \u201cBrand new parts, just like I said,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cA brand new hot rod, with brand new parts. They\u2019ve still got 20 years of steel and metal to go, so it keeps my longevity. If I go another 20 years, I\u2019ll be 68 (laughs). I just saw that concert with <a href=\"\/site\/led-zeppelin-articles\/\" target=\"_blank\">Led Zeppelin<\/a> at the John F. Kennedy Center (on December 2nd, 2012 in Washington, DC), and they were great. I can still do it, I know I can. I do three miles every day, so I know I can do it. I\u2019m in better shape now than I\u2019ve ever been. I\u2019m singing better than I ever have, so bring it on. Bring it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hatriot\u2019s moniker is lifted from the Exodus composition \u2018Scar Spangled Banner\u2019, the number inaugurating <em>Tempo Of The Damned<\/em>. \u201cThe word comes from \u2018Scar Spangled Banner\u2019, but I knew coming up with the name people would ask me where it comes from,\u201d the singer recognises. \u201cTo me, this is my explanation for it, and that\u2019s at least where we\u2019re coming from. A couple of tracks on the record are political, a couple of them are social, and a couple of them are not. Whatever intrigues me I guess is how I go at it, but I\u2019m not trying to make a political statement by my band\u2019s name by any means. It doesn\u2019t have to be that way. A hatriot though is a person who loves his country, but doesn\u2019t necessarily agree with the hypocrisies of the government or the police, or anybody that has a position of power, and takes it and abuses it in a corrupt way. <\/p>\n<div class=\"image floatedright\">\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/hatriotmiguelesparza2012livephoto1.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><strong><em>Miguel Esparza<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll give you a great example. Do you know who Jesse Ventura is? He was a wrestler, and the Governor of Minnessota. I would call him a hatriot, a guy who loves his country and went to war (Vietnam) for his country. He\u2019s not really thrilled about how they run it though. We\u2019ve taken our flag, and it\u2019s not an American flag \u2013 it\u2019s a Hatriot flag. A lot of people say \u2018You\u2019re taking our flag upside down and burning it. You don\u2019t do that in the United States.\u2019 We say \u2018No&#8230; It\u2019s a Hatriot flag.\u2019 The American flag is all pretty, flying with stars. You can notice that ours has pentagrams in it, although after this record the flag will evolve. You probably won\u2019t see the flag much anymore. It\u2019s the first chapter of Hatriot and it\u2019s a piece of it, but it\u2019s not something where in ten years you\u2019ll see a new, reimagined version of the flag or something like that. The next record will be whatever the next record\u2019s going to be. We\u2019re very much moving on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An inaugural four-track demo arrived in 2011. \u201cWe were excited going into that, because we knew that the songs were really good and that because of the internet and because of my history, it would probably get a quick, good, solid look,\u201d Steve reminisces. \u201cGoing into that, we knew that we had to make it really, really special and really good. I think the pressure level started there, honestly. My memories of it are very solid, very, very solid memories. Everybody came in, and did their jobs correctly. We just went in at it, and did it as a bunch of professionals would do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Opening tune \u2018The Fear Within\u2019 didn\u2019t appear on 2013 debut full-length <em>Heroes Of Origin<\/em>, the only one not to do so. \u201cThree of the tracks (\u2018Weapons Of Class Destruction\u2019, \u2018Globicidal\u2019, and \u2018The Mechanics Of Annihilation\u2019) that were on the demo are on the record, and they\u2019re actually better,\u201d the composer remarks. \u201cObviously, you get to work on them and get to do them again. I thought the drumming on them were much heavier than they were on the demo. I thought Alex was a great drummer and I didn\u2019t want to replace him, but then as soon as Nick came in it changed the sound of the band. He hits harder, and his rolls are more pronounced, proud. You can hear them better. Like I said, he\u2019s much of a thrash drummer than Alex was. Alex was more of a death drummer, techno-death, who could play thrash. Nicholas is a straight up thrash drummer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll be putting \u2018The Fear Within\u2019 on the next album. I didn\u2019t want to use it. I just felt that <em>Heroes Of Origin<\/em> was a really, really heavy album, and I wanted to keep it that way. I wanted to also keep that song, because it\u2019s very much a progression for the second record. I like it. I want them to rewrite some guitar parts to it, and make it really, really cool. There\u2019s a lot of other things I want to do vocally on it as well, so it\u2019s definitely gonna be a second album song.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A performance video was filmed for the track \u2018Blood Stained Wings\u2019. \u201cWe had recorded that demo, and I knew that we were gonna sign a record deal,\u201d Steve discloses. \u201cI wanted to give the fans and the people that had helped start it, and were on our website \u2013 and the people that had supported us \u2013 one more free thing. Instead of just releasing it on the website like I had done with the demo, I wanted them to see us. I wanted them to be able to look at us, so I hired Mike Sloat who did all of Machine Head\u2019s last few videos and \u2018Native Blood\u2019 (from July 2012\u2019s <a href=\"\/site\/album-review-testament-dark-roots-of-earth\/\"><em>Dark Roots Of Earth<\/em><\/a>) for Testament. I hired him to come in, and paid for it out of my own pocket. It wasn\u2019t really an over-expensive, elaborate video. It was just a chance for people to look at us and see what we look like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was revealed on July 13th, 2012 that Hatriot had inked an album contract with Massacre Records. \u201cWe got a few offers,\u201d the co-founder notes. \u201cSPV \/ Steamhammer made an offer, and there was one more that was interested. I think Massacre was really behind it more, and they were very excited about it. They\u2019re working with us; everything we\u2019ve done, they\u2019ve worked with us on it. It\u2019s not becoming a struggle to get things done, or to do things with them. They\u2019re very much behind it. We just approached them, because we want to do a video for the album. We figured they would probably say no, but we asked them for the money and they said \u2018Yes, no problem. They\u2019re gonna do 500 numbered vinyl copies which they said that they don\u2019t ever do for a debut band ever, so they\u2019re behind it very much and I want that. I want that. <\/p>\n<div class=\"image floatedleft\">\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/hatriotkostavarvatakis2012livephoto1.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><b><em>Kosta Varvatakis<\/em><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI think us, my name, my history, what I\u2019ve done in the past, and what I bring to the table now is gonna work with them. It\u2019s not a long deal; it\u2019s two records, and a third on our part. If somehow the marriage didn\u2019t seem to work all that well&#8230; Which again, I don\u2019t think is gonna happen. Their promises have been great, and we\u2019ve been really happy with them and really pleased. We hope that they\u2019re gonna continue to step up to the plate, and they have. I think we\u2019ll be okay, and again, because of my name and because of playing in Exodus, that\u2019s gonna obviously create some interest and some type of buzz. I kind of got the feeling that people are gonna want to see that and hear it, and if it\u2019s good then they\u2019re gonna like it. I think we\u2019ve delivered, I really do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A thrash unit first and foremost, Hatriot nonetheless incorporate additional musical elements into their compositions. \u201cThere are other elements in it; there\u2019s blast beats in it, and there are very much modern elements in it,\u201d Steve contends. \u201cWith the guitars, there\u2019s a breakdown in one of the songs. So yeah, the guys listen to what\u2019s going on today. It\u2019s not that we\u2019re just a thrash band. We\u2019re definitely a classic 80s Bay Area thrash band, but probably something you haven\u2019t heard since the 80s. That\u2019s probably the way I\u2019d say it, but I still think it\u2019s very much modern, new and fresh, especially with kids in the band.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Less discerning listeners might perhaps mistake debut proper <em>Heroes Of Origin<\/em> for a new Exodus platter. \u201cYou know you\u2019re gonna hear that; you know you\u2019re gonna hear that,\u201d the vocalist agrees. \u201cI\u2019m sure it is. Of course it is, but you\u2019ve gotta remember: I played in Exodus for all those years, so any rhythms or riffs that sound even remotely close to it and you hear my vocal over it, you\u2019re gonna think that. When King Diamond left Mercyful Fate and started King Diamond, it kind of sounded the same didn\u2019t it? You wouldn\u2019t say Andy LaRocque (King Diamond guitarist) was ripping off Hank Shermann (Mercyful Fate guitarist), would ya? Not really. I look at it the same way. I don\u2019t write the riffs \u2013 Kosta does. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes it sound a lot like Exodus? It sure does, but it sounds a lot like other bands too. I could pull Megadeth out there. I could listen to the record, point to certain songs, and say what you\u2019ve heard before. All the way through, from Slayer to Megadeth, from Metallica to Exodus, and from Testament to Legacy \u2013 all over the thing. It\u2019s a classic record with classic stuff on it, and it sounds great. It\u2019s a guy who has written songs from being a well-schooled thrash student. You want to talk about Kosta? Yeah, Kosta\u2019s thrash. Kosta listens to thrash \u2013 that\u2019s what Kosta\u2019s deal is. That\u2019s obvious. Kosta\u2019s a thrash man; he knows about all of the thrash bands, from Sepultura to Death. He tells me about these thrash bands from the 80s that I don\u2019t even fucking remember, but he knows them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Steve\u2019s comments suggest Kosta is a student of the thrash game, so to speak. \u201cVery much so, very much so,\u201d he affirms. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s good, really good. We didn\u2019t get lucky. We didn\u2019t get lucky with the ten songs, because I can tell. I know my record\u2019s good. I think it\u2019s the best record I\u2019ve ever recorded, and the way I look at it is ten killers, no fillers on this album. That\u2019s how we approach all of our writing, and so the next record is gonna have ten killers and no fillers on it. These kids are well versed in thrash, and obviously I\u2019m well versed in thrash. I don\u2019t see us sweating or getting tired.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dubbing <em>Heroes Of Origin<\/em> the greatest full-length the Hatriot frontman has cut to date is a courageous statement, given that the record\u2019s potential merits have to be weighed against the potential merits of Exodus studio offering two through to six. \u201cI love everything I did with Exodus, but honestly this is the best record I\u2019ve ever done vocally, lyrically, musically,\u201d he reiterates. \u201cThe only thing close is probably <em>Fabulous Disaster<\/em> or <em>Tempo Of The Damned<\/em>, and if you listen to <em>Tempo Of The Damned<\/em> and then listen to this record, you\u2019d probably think that this record would be the next progression from that. If you listen to <em>Tempo Of The Damned<\/em> and then <em>Heroes Of Origin<\/em>, you\u2019d think that it was the same band one right after the other, but it\u2019s not. At least I\u2019m delivering. I\u2019m giving the fans what they want. It\u2019s what\u2019s in my heart, anyway. It\u2019s what I play, and that\u2019s why it works so good for me in Hatriot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A misinformed interviewer labelled Steve a thrash revivalist, despite the fact he was part of thrash\u2019s inaugural wave and has continued to extol its virtues over the years. \u201cThat\u2019s basically what it is,\u201d he examines. \u201cIt\u2019s just I\u2019m carrying on with what I\u2019m doing, because it\u2019s what I do. If this was to be an Exodus album everybody would be going fucking apeshit, going \u2018Oh my God. They\u2019re back, they\u2019re so back. Did you hear the new Exodus album?\u2019 It\u2019s not an Exodus record though. It\u2019s a Hatriot record, but in the same vein of that. I still think people are gonna go \u2018I don\u2019t care. It\u2019s fucking awesome; it fucking kills.\u2019 This record does kill; I\u2019m very proud of this album. I know when I do something good, and this record is really, really good. I\u2019m very proud of it, very, very much so, and I think that you\u2019ll be getting nothing but more of the same here.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"image floatedright\">\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/exodus1987promophoto1.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><strong><em>Exodus 1987 (l-r): Tom Hunting, Gary Holt, Rick Hunolt, Steve \u2018Zetro\u2019 Souza and <br \/>Rob McKillop<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Heroes Of Origin<\/em> isn\u2019t an Exodus outing however, Rob Dukes helming vocals in that ensemble. Rob has his supporters, but the Exodus frontman equally has his critics. \u201cA lot of people don\u2019t like his singing,\u201d the Hatriot lyricist seconds. \u201cWhat I hear the rap is on him is that he\u2019s a voice there over the music, but that he brings nothing special to the table. That\u2019s the rap on him, but I\u2019ll just say this in his defence. He was there when I couldn\u2019t be there, and for the band to carry on they needed somebody like him. For the eight years that he has been there he has done a good job, and he\u2019s tried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When <em>Pleasures Of The Flesh<\/em> debuted in 1987 Steve equally drew the ire of certain critics, critics who preferred the voice of the late Paul Baloff. Paul\u2019s lone Exodus studio appearance arrived in the shape of April 1985\u2019s <a href=\"\/site\/album-review-exodus-bonded-by-blood\/\"><em>Bonded By Blood<\/em><\/a>, Exodus\u2019 inaugural studio opus, <em>Pleasures Of The Flesh<\/em> being their second. \u201cI\u2019m not na\u00efve to that,\u201d Steve acknowledges. \u201cDefinitely not. It took about a year or two before people really accepted me. It took <em>Fabulous Disaster<\/em> to come out before I was full-on the singer of Exodus. It took a little while because of the way he approached it and stuff and I knew that, but I made my own mark with that band and very much so. I created my own sound with that band as well, which I think I am carrying on in Hatriot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Hatriot mainman and Paul were on friendly terms. \u201cVery much so,\u201d he underlines. \u201cWe were great friends. Me and Paul knew each other very, very well. Hell yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Steve\u2019s memories of Paul are \u201conly crazy ones (laughs). Paul was a nutjob, crazy. He liked to drink and party, let\u2019s just say that. He had this house in Oakland called the Hell House, and you would go there on a Friday night. There would literally be half an inch of water on the floor from booze and people dragging in shit. It was wild. He had this wolf dog, and it went everywhere. Yeah, Paul was a crazy guy (laughs). Those are some good memories. It\u2019s too bad he\u2019s not around anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fact that <em>Bonded By Blood<\/em> would prove to be Paul\u2019s lone studio effort proper as part of the Exodus camp is a great shame. \u201cThere are some people that think that, and that\u2019s true,\u201d Steve appreciates. \u201cI have no problem with that, because I am the biggest fan of that. That\u2019s what got me into the band, was that fucking album. Are you kidding me? This band wanted me, so I felt honoured and respected because of that. It just thrives in me. Like I said, I\u2019ve done so many other projects. I tried to shut it down but I couldn\u2019t, so that\u2019s why I\u2019m so into it. I\u2019m very much focused on Hatriot, and I\u2019m very much focused on what\u2019s gonna happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center><strong><a href=\"\/site\/feature-hatriot-02-13-pt1\/\">1<\/a> | 2 | <a href=\"\/site\/feature-hatriot-02-13-pt3\/\">3<\/a> <\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hatriot (l-r): Kosta Varvatakis, Steve \u2018Zetro\u2019 Souza, Cody Souza, Nick Souza and Miguel Esparza Irrespective of whether Exodus will continue to exist however, as has been stated, the vocalist would decline a potential opportunity to return to the outfit\u2019s ranks. \u201cI couldn\u2019t do it because of the timing,\u201d he reasons. \u201cIf he came up to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hatriot"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11512"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11780,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11512\/revisions\/11780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}