Sunday 29 July 2012

Interview with Steve "Zetro" Souza on Hatriot's New Album

Hatriot:
Steve "Zetro" Souza - Vocals
Kosta Varvatakis - Guitars
Michael Esparza - Guitars
Cody Souza - Bass
Alex Bent - Drums

Zetro may be a familiar name to many of you with an impressive pedigree including Exodus and Legacy (Testament) and he returns to us now the guise of Hatriot all set to start recording their debut album "Heroes of Origin" in August this year.

Combining Zetro's experience of the old school thrash scene with some new blood contributing to ensuring the music is still relevant today, this will be an album to look out for. Heavy Metal Bullet caught up with Zetro to find out some more about what to expect from the upcoming album.
"I am like their fearless leader"
Heavy Metal Bullet (HMB): With an impressive history behind you what do you think will make Hatriot stand out from the other bands you have been a part of?
Zetro: I think my experience and my name will obviously give Hatriot a head start with everything. Actually the youth that comes with this band is what will set Hatriot apart from my other projects in the past. I am like their fearless leader. Every practice is a lesson, I tell them what to expect when this thing gets rolling. We never had that in Exodus or Legacy because we were all young and just learning as we went. Now I can take the youth and guide them so we don't make any mistakes. It's a really cool thing.

HMB: Do you think there are expectations placed upon this record considering the bands you have been a part of before?
Zetro: I expect it to be killer, I won't let anything else go out and my past history speaks for itself. The fans know what to expect from me as far as my vocal style goes, that hasn't changed. What has changed is the band is a lot heavier than a lot of what I have done, the music is more aggressive, the lyrics are sicker than ever. This album is going to kick your ass, I can promise that.

HMB: Where did the name Hatriot come from?
Zetro: The Hatriot name came from the Exodus song "Scar Spangled Banner". The band is the natural "next step" from what I was doing during my last run with Exodus, so the name Hatriot kind of ties my history with them to the new band. Plus it sounded pissed off and aggressive, just like a thrash metal band should be, so I went with it.
"The music is more agressive, the lyrics are sicker than ever. This album is going to kick you ass"
HMB: What should people expect from the upcoming record?
Zetro: Expect ten songs of straight up kick your ass thrash metal. The record is going to be called "Heroes of Origin" and it will be all killer no filler. I only put my name to music that I think is top notch, and the new Hatriot record is definitely that. I haven't strayed from the vocal style the fans expect to hear when they listen to something from me, so it will be familiar, yet fresh at the same time.

HMB: Do you have any routines/rituals prior to recording or are you more of a take it how it comes person?
Zetro: I listen to the music extensively, almost relentlessly. Like right now I am memorising the material and we are rehearsing five times a week. So I guess that's the way I prepare for it. I take the music home with me and just drill it over and over.
"We didn't realise the club was run by the Mafia over there"
HMB: Who would you say has influenced the music of Hatriot?
Zetro: I would say the old school thrash scene is obviously the biggest influence, but with the guys in the band being younger they bring in a lot of new elements as well. You will hear a lot of triplets in the music, maybe some blast beats from time to time. I think it's a perfect mix of the old sound and the newer, modern sound.

HMB: What or who would you say got you into metal music?
Zetro: I've always liked hard rock and metal music. I always tell the story of when I was eight years old my father took me out to buy a Led Zeppelin record, that was the beginning of it. In the 70s I listened to mostly hard rock but by the 80s it was definietly all metal. I listened to the most extreme music that was out there.

HMB: Anny funny band related stories you can share?
Zetro: Ummm... let me give you one from England. We (Exodus) trashed a dressing room at the Hummingbird in England. We didn't realise the club was run by the Mafia over there, the Jamaican Triad. The venue had messed up our rider and we were trashing the place to retaliate, not realising these guys were literally going to try and kill us. Sure enough, these Jamaican guys showed up with guns. Our manager told the godfather guy what had happened and that it was nothing against them and that we would pay for it. So they hunted down the guy who didn't hold up the end of the bargain, the guy who stiffed us, and they kicked his ass! The next time we came to England we played a different club and these same Mafia guys came out and they loved us. But they wanted to kill us the year before!

While you wait in eager anticipation for the release of "Heroes of Origin" why not use the time wisely, click on any of the links below and find out some more about Hatriot for yourselves!

Hatriot Website
Facebook
Twitter

Friday 27 July 2012

Heavy Metal Album Review : Seven Deadly - The Allegiance EP

Seven Deadly - The Allegiance EP
Rating: 6.5/10
Words by Jack King

Seven Deadly are a metalcore mob who "rose from the ashes of Panic Cell" and intend to raise hell with their EP "The Allegiance". They show promise but will need to work hard in order to surpass their former band.

The first track kicks off with a speedy riff that turns into an ultra heavy introduction. After an aggressive scream the song hits with hard rock melodies mixing with metalcore riffs and heavy vocals. The whole thing blends together to create an interesting beefy tune. 

Moving on though the next few songs seem to lose that interesting spark and become average metalcore songs with a lack of hooks or big choruses that make bands like Killswitch Engage seem larger than life. The lyrics seem cliché and lack depth whilst the clean vocals seem relatively weary without the hard rock hooks that worked so well in the first track. The tracks "Blood on Your Hands" and "From this Darkness" are patched with chugging riffs that bring back some much needed character to the EP. "From this Darkness" also features the catchiest chorus and it is easy to understand why it was chosen for the band's debut single.

Having said all of the above this still isn't a bad EP, however, it's nothing new or interesting after the first track. The heavy vocals have a great blend of passion and aggression and if you're a huge metalcore addict then there is no reason why you won't enjoy this EP, but for someone who owns every Chimaira album this is an EP that will probably not be missed.

The band definitely has potential, this is clear, but it would be good to see Seven Deadly become more that just another metalcore band. If they manage to develop this sound into something that we haven't heard before then they could easily be better than Panic Cell.

Monday 16 July 2012

Heavy Metal New Blood Profile: Want For Destruction

Want For Destruction:
Rob Brown : Vox
Gary Durrant: Guitar
Luke Brown: Guitar
Andy Appleton: Drums
Duff Valley: Bass

I had the pleasure of watching these metallers from Great Yarmouth earlier this year (check out the review here) and they have been firmly on my radar ever since.

Formed in 2010 when brothers Rob and Luke joined forces with Gary and Andy and the rest as they say was history...

With influences from Pantera and Machine Head to Johnny Cash Want For Destruction write tracks with heavy groove based riffs and crushing breakdowns. Want For Destruction are currently working on a new release but you can check out their EP "This is the End" on their facebook page (details at the end).

Heavy Metal Bullet caught up with Want For Destruction to find out a bit more about the band and it's members:

Heavy Metal Bullet (HMB): How did the name Want For Destruction come about?
Luke Brown (LB): We had band practice one night and randomly Rob said he wants destruction at our first gig, just destroy the crowd, the venue and all other bands (in a musical sense)

HMB: Would you consider yourself as part of a specific genre and if so which one?
Duff Valley (DV): We don't really like to bracket ourselves into a genre. We are just a kick ass live Metal band.
Andy Appleton (AA): I consider us Groove Metal
Rob Brown (RB): I don't care to be honest, as long as people like our stuff it doesn't matter. We don't do genre bollocks, we write what we like.
LB: Norfolk Metal, it's new and it's the future
Gary Durrant (GD): I agree, we said from the start we will play what we like and let everyone else put us in a genre, we are Metal.

HMB: What's the strangest thing you've ever seen at a gig?
DV: At a gig in London in bad weather,  a cyclist was hit by a car. Not too badly as he then got up and ran to the car, pulled the driver out and kicked the crap out of him.
AA: I always like the coked up middle aged woman who likes to "wave" dance... never gets old
RB: Probably out friend Alex, completly destroyed, getting thrown from a pit doing a javelin head straight into the side of the stage we were playing. How his neck didn't snap is beyond me, he was a mess that night, in fact we all were.

HMB: Any funny band related stories you would like to share?
RB: Not even my band knows this one haha! I ripped my jeans during a gig in Norwich, and played the last few songs with a ball hanging out LOL. I'm gonna get shit for that one now. The funny bit was me trying to go through the photographs Monday morning, trying to make sure my ginger ball wasn't plastered all over facebook. I got lucky there. I also do get a sick laugh out of getting a crowd to shout "POW" in honour of our manager Simon, I know he hates it... Probably hates it even more now that it's stuck!
AA: This is EASY! Duff needing to piss desperatly, it was snowed up, barely moving and it was roughly 16 miles to the next service stop. He moaned like hell for us to pull over but we couldn't and caused mass panic by getting his dick out and threatening to piss in a bottle, which he did... I have a recording of this panic, would be happy to post it..
HMB: I'm thinking the mental image is enough for now!

So go ahead and check these guys out, that being an order rather than a request!

Facebook
Twitter



Sunday 15 July 2012

Heavy Metal New Blood Album Review: Rex Shachath - Sepulchral Torment

Rex Shachath - "Sepulchral Torment"
Rating: 8.5/10
Release Date: 7th Sept 2012
Lable: Hostile Records

Northern Irish metallers Rex Shachath are set to release their debut EP "Sepulchral Torment" later this year but Heavy Metal Bullet has had the change to review this EP.

The EP Starts with a short intro that builds the tension before the full frontal attack from the title track that begins the EP as it means to carry on.

Throughout the EP therw is no let up, the ferocity of the guitars supported by a wall of sound from percussion and topped off with some brutal death metal vocals carries throughout and results in a strong debut EP that is definitely worth a listen.

For fans of old school death metal this is one to keep an eye out for when it is released in September this year. Check out the video below for "Seven Serpents" taken from the EP and then find out below where to get more info on Rex Shachath


Pre-orders for the album (special pre-order package) available at Big Cartel

And you can check out more from the band at all these places: