Hello Steve! It seems that you are very busy recently. You are planning to release the first Hatriot’s album. How is work going in the studio?
Hello everyone! Yes, Hatriot has been on a major climb over
the past few months and have officially signed with Massacre Records. We are in the middle of recording our debut
record, ‘Heroes Of Origin,’ right now, and are actually way ahead of
schedule. The guys are very well
prepared for the studio since we rehearse so much. They are killing it and that makes my job
much easier. I am about to start doing
vocal tracks this week. Zetro is back!
Do you already know when exactly the
album will be released? Someone told me of January, next year. How real is the
term?
That is definitely the time we are
shooting for. We are recording now and
should have the whole thing mixed and mastered by the end of September. I’ve got my art guy doing the layout now as
well. We should have everything turned
in to Massacre by the end of September and then it is in their hands to get it
pressed and distributed. It will be out
in the first quarter of 2013 no doubt about it.
Not long ago you published new song
"Blood Stained Wings”. Is the whole album going to be in this style?
Yes, in fact that is why we chose “Blood Stained Wings” for the video. It is a very good representation of what the
band is doing. I don’t want to let too
much information out, but this is a very well rounded thrash metal record. All of the key elements are there. If you were a fan of what I did during my time
with Exodus then you will love the Hatriot stuff.
For the most part my guitarist Kosta
will write and arrange the music and I will write all the lyrics. He has a gift for knowing what parts go
where. Very rarely do I have to make him
change something. It’s only happened a
couple of times and that’s because there were too many good riffs and we had to
make a song shorter. After Kosta gets
the general arrangement together he will teach it to the rest of the band and
they put their own sound and style on it.
I’ve heard your demo and it sounds
promising. How did your ‘old’ fans react to the new project and these sounds?
It has been all positive reactions so
far. I haven’t strayed too far out from
the sound they are used to hearing from me.
It has actually gotten heavier.
The same formulas and structures that worked so well with the Exodus
material are all here in Hatriot as well.
Thrash fans will not be disappointed.
Recently you’ve signed a contract with
Massacre Records. Is this one-time collaboration, or rather a long-term
contract?
It is for two records, but who knows
what the future holds? We may stay
longer than that. The people at Massacre
have been very good to work with so far.
They have a proven track record and know how to promote and market
thrash metal. Sounds like a good match
to me.
How was Hatriot created? I admit that it
was a surprise to me when I saw the new video. When the idea of creating this
band appeared in your head?
I met my guitarist Kosta at a show his
band was playing and we hit it off. We
started talking shop and I was impressed with how much knowledge he had about
thrash metal. I sang on some demos he
had lying around, and that led to us writing some material. We had a real strong chemistry so we decided
to form a band.
The name of the band seems to be a
combination of ‘Hate’ and ‘Patriotism’, Am I right? Are the texts corresponding
somehow with the name?
Yeah the name comes from the Exodus song
‘Scar Spangled Banner,’ where I use the phrase “I’m no patriot just a
hatriot.” It is a total play on the word
patriot.
There are two of your sons playing
together with you in Hatriot... Do you cooperate more like buddies from the
band, or you're standing over them with a whip and forcing them to work like a
strict father?
For the most part we are band mates when
it comes to Hatriot. I don’t really have
to dive into dad mode with them. They
are both very mature and understand the music and the work ethic that is
required to do something at this level.
They grew up around it.
Are Nicholas and Cody fans of what
you've done for metal so far? Are they proud of the fact that they can play in
a band with such a ‘famous’ person?
Well, I’ve always been ‘dad’ to them but
they are aware of the records and the status that I have in the business. I don’t know if they view me as being famous
or not. Nick is right here, I am going
to get him to answer this.
NICK SOUZA – Well, I do understand what he did in the past, and all the
groundbreaking albums he was a part of, but for the most part I just view him
as dad. It’s awesome to be in a band
with him. He’s done so much for heavy
metal. But I know another side of him –
going to baseball games with his kids and stuff like that, so to me he’s just
dad.
At the beginning you’ve had a different
drummer, which recorded a demo with you. Why did you replace him with your son?
Yeah that was our old drummer Alex. He is a phenomenal player, but we were headed
in different directions. He had other
opportunities to tour and do things, so he went for that route. No hard feelings. It’s all good now. We tried out a few drummers to replace him,
but to be honest Nick was the best choice, as well as the most obvious
choice. It is working out nicely.
I’ve heard that Cody was not too eager
to play and you’ve had to encourage him a little. From whom he got his first
instrument? It wasn’t you, right?
No, Cody has always been eager to
play. I never forced it on him; I just
let him become interested in it on his own.
I bought an old bass off of Jack Gibson during my last stint with
Exodus. Cody was about 13 at the
time. I threw it at him and said “here
you go – learn to play it.” I wanted to
see how badly he wanted to learn.
Needless to say he taught himself how to play and is a killer bassist
now. He plays a five string because four
just ain’t enough for him. He actually
had to try out for Hatriot. We didn’t
just give him the gig because I’m his dad.
He earned his way in.
What about playing concerts? Have you
already had the opportunity to test your abilities in front of a large
audience?
Yes, we have done a few shows over the past couple years here in the Bay
Area. It’s all about quality and not
quantity with me. We have opened shows
for a lot of the bigger metal acts that are from here. I’m not interested in playing every little
local show that gets offered. We view
ourselves as a national act and we promote ourselves that way. When the record drops in January there will be
a full scale tour. We will be doing a
lot of road work to support the album.
Now let's go back in time. Do you
remember the time when you’ve joined the Exodus? What were your emotions then?
Exodus was already ‘big’ brand.
It was surreal. Exodus was huge in the Bay Area. I remember going to a party and people were
coming up to me congratulating me on joining the band. It was like going from the minor leagues into
the major leagues. Paul Baloff definitely left big shoes to fill and it took a while to gain
the respect of the fans. I was the ‘new
guy’ for quite a while.
Exodus had been touring again with Paul
Baloff and then he had a stroke and died.
It was a very sudden thing and it put the band in a situation where they
had contracted shows on the books and had to fulfill their obligations. The band couldn’t leave the promoters hanging
so I got the call to fill in on some shows and it lead to me rejoining the band
full time. From there we wrote and
recorded the “Tempo” album and the rest is history.
Which one of the albums that you have
recorded with Exodus is the most important achievement to you?
I love all of my work with Exodus. Each one of the albums represents a different
chapter in my life and I’m very close to them all. But If I had to choose I’d say it is a tie between
“Fabulous Disaster” and “Tempo Of The Damned.”
“Fabulous” because it was such a groundbreaking record, and “Tempo”
because it was an amazing comeback record for me after an absence from the
scene.
What's going on now in the camp of
Dublin Death Patrol? What is the mood inside after the release of the new
album? How long have you been working on this material?
‘Death Sentence’ is the name of the new
DDP disc, and it took us about a year to write and record it. DDP is more of a fun project than a real
functioning band. We get together and
jam when time permits, and that’s pretty much it. Right now Chuck is obviously busy touring on
the new Testament record, and I’m working hard to get Hatriot into the
forefront of the scene. Hatriot is my
full priority at this point, so I don’t know what the future will hold for DDP.
Returning to Hatriot, are you already
thinking about next year's tour to promote the album? Is there a chance to come
to Poland?
Part of the deal with Massacre is they
agree to put us on tour. Where that will
be is yet to be determined. A lot of it
has to do with the economics involved with everything. We definitely would love to come to
Poland. If the label moves a lot of
product in Poland then I’m sure we will try to work something out.
That's all for this moment. Now you have
the opportunity to greet our readers and encourage them to check Hatriot. Thank
you!
I really appreciate the interview.
It’s the webzines and die hard guys in the underground that keep metal
alive. To the fans out there – I want to
thank all of you for sticking with me and following my career through all the
ups and downs. I promise this Hatriot
record will be a thrash classic and you will not be disappointed. I hope to see everyone on tour. Cheers!
ZETRO
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