Review Summary: An extremely heavy and intense trip down memory lane, Heroes of Origin can be seen as a logical continuation of the heavy thrash style that front-man Steve "Zetro" Souza helped popularize in the late 80's with Exodus.
Newly formed metal act Hatriot has been creating quite a bit of buzz in the thrash community as of late. Formerly a front-man for legendary thrash act Exodus, Steve "Zetro" Souza has seemingly out of nowhere formed this new thrash project with some of his buddies and have produced an album that is noteworthy for it's classic Exodus sound and style. In fact, this is an album that sounds like it could have been released shortly after one of Exodus's finest albums, 1989's Fabulous Disaster. And while it may be easy for some Exodus fans to look at this album as a mere copy of Exodus's style, one cannot forget that Souza (along with Gary Holt) is responsible for much of the band's classic material.
Everything one can desire from a classic Exodus record is here, whether it be the snarling and guttural vocals of Souza, the catchy and heavy riffing, the frantic and angry sounding solos, or even the energetic and fast drumming. Raw speed and technicality are often the best combination when it comes to thrash, and Hatriot has this in ample supply.This is an album that does a nearly perfect job of emulating that classic thrash sound, the only real difference being the modern production values, and the (in my opinion) much improved vocals of Souza. Age has seemed to give his voice an even more scratchy and aggressive tone, as Souza shows no signs of losing his harsh and unique voice for metal.
Despite not bringing anything new to the table in terms of musical progression, this is an album that will impress even the most modern of metal fans. Heroes of Origin is an album that without a doubt establishes Hatriot as a modern thrash force to be reckoned with. The album is very consistent, has a perfect length of forty minutes, and manages to hold my attention throughout the entire recording. If your looking for something that will remind you of the old school, or more simply, something to thrash to, this is it. Hatriot play a brand of metal that has so much raw aggression and technicality to it, that it will put most modern metal bands to shame. And while it is still very early in the year, this is an album that I see cracking my top 20 albums of 2013.
