Hatriot - Dawn of the New Centurion

Every metal head should know Steve "Zetro" Sousa who was the vocalist who put Exodus on the map back in the 80s. Who can forget his screaming vocals from "Toxic Waltz?" I actually saw him in Exodus back in '89 with Antrax and Helloween. Although I wasn't the biggest fan of Exodus, I always admired their aggression and ability to play textbook thrash. So let's fast forward to 2014 and here we have the second album by Hatriot, a band put together by Zetro that also contains his two sons, Cody on bass and Nick on the drums. Now some call this retro-thrash but how can you call this retro when the driving force behind this band was actually there "back in the day?" This is thrash and thrash done right!

It appears that Sousa's politics are showing on the opener "My Cold Dead Hands" using the infamous speech by actor/former NRA president Charlton Heston as the song's intro. Politics aside, this is angry fuckin' thrash. The riffs are monstrous and ballsy. The guitar work is worthy of much praise as the youngsters that Sousa recruited to play in his band are definitely a nod to the old school. The solos are actually done with technical brilliance as well as class to bring a touch of melody to this thrash metal onslaught. Sousa's vocals sound like '89 all over again. He hasn't lost a thing in his vocals, which is amazing since he sings with so much aggression while sounding like he's gargling on broken glass. This is a great way to open a thrash album, fast, angry and aggressive...and he ends the album the same way with the closer "Consolation for the Insane." And whoever pissed him off on "Your Worst Enemy" better watch his ass because Zetro is PISSED on this song and that makes for some killer thrash! This is another riff fest that forces you at gun point to bang your head. Once again, the solos are done so well.

Obviously growing up with Steve "Zetro" Sousa as your dad you already know what thrash metal is but it is also apparent that the remainder of youngsters that Sousa has found really know what true thrash metal is. As I said before, this is not retro anything, this is the real deal. Sousa's former band mates should take note here because this blows away anything Exodus has done recently. The musicianship of this band is to be commended as they are tight and everything is perfectly timed. The production is meaty and has HUGE balls, as thrash should be. Not every song is fast and furious but that takes nothing away from the aggression and the music itself. "Honor the Rise and Fall" is a mid paced thrasher that is not all speed and fury but kicks your teeth in nonetheless. More amazing guitar work and the Sousa brother's rhythm section is just perfect. Then there is "Superkillafragsadisticactsaresoatrocious"...what the fuck is that? However, this is another angry thrash song that is probably the weakest song on the album but is still just crushing even if the title is a bit odd. 

As with most trash songs, the lyrical content is very political and songs like "Silence in the House of the Lord" which touches on the topic of pedophile priests only make for good angry thrash. Steve is angry on this song as well and his vocals let you know he's pissed off. The riffs are crushing and the solos are simply amazing. This is a longer song, as is "The Fear Within" and the title track, all clocking in just over seven minutes. But given that the songs are so well written they do not become stale. They are epic thrash if there ever was such an animal, especially the title track. Once again, Sousa's vocals shine here. As long as he's been in (and out of) the game you would have thought he would have lost some of the youth in his voice but not here. He is in top form sounding like he did back in the 80s. He's here to kick your ass...plain and simple. The title track may be my favorite on the album. The song is just crushing and the solos are fucking godly.

So there may be a retro-thrash movement going on out there but this band isn't part of that. These boys were taught what thrash truly is by someone who was instrumental in the movement in it's heyday. I actually thought the first album was just a fluke and that they couldn't continue like this but now I believe that this band is in it for real and will continue to kick my ass for years to come. I'm excited to hear what comes next.

9/10

Disfigurement - Soul Rot (EP)

When it comes to the so called return of "old school" death metal there are few bands that are truly doing it old school. When I think old school I think of Death, early Morbid Angel, early Obituary, and of course the old school swede-death sound. There have been many times that I have been mislead when finding a band that SAYS they play old school death metal only to find that they really just play watered down death metal with non modern production. I want to hear riffs! I want to hear solos! Well, finally I have found a band that truly does take me back to those early days of death metal when they still had a tinge of thrash in the music and the riffs were massive and the solos killer...that band is Atlanta, Georgia's Disfigurement.

This EP was released in September of 2013 and is a 23 minute onslaught of riffs, solos and evil death growls. The opener, "Noxious Sensation", pummels you with excellent riffs, and classy solos that are tasty as well as technical. The drums are pounding with some blasts but they do not dominate the music making this truly old school. These guys really show their influences on this and all the songs on this EP. This is a neck breaker as the riffs just keep coming including some good tremolos. "Solitude" is another just crushing death metal song that makes me feel like I'm back in the early '90s again. The first solo has a an eastern feel to it and is just godly. These guys can play! The second solo is another piece of metal artistry. One of the best death metal songs I've heard, ever...coming from a bunch of fairly young guys! Makes my old metal heart feel good to know that there is a generation of people playing this music.

I'm sorry but modern death metal just does not contain riffs like these. The title track is just crushing with riffs including some classy tremolos that fit perfectly and this song even has a doomy part in there that contains some of the heaviest doom riffs I've ever heard. This song is epic and shows just how talented these guys are. "Entrance to Emptiness," and "Foul Light" are both just pounding death metal songs with some of the best riffs I've heard in along time from a death metal band. These guys could show some of their mentors a thing or two actually. I've been playing this shit out of this EP since I've got it and I'm not even close to getting tired of it. I hope this band gets the recognition they deserve because they will go far. They are tight and talented and I'm a major fan of this band already.

The only thing wrong with this EP is that there is not enough of it. I can't wait to hear a proper album from these guys. Every song written solidly and played with perfection. If you are like me and are sick to fuckin' death of hearing "old school death metal" only to find that it's anything but, these guys will give you hope. Neck braces not included.

9.5/10

Manowar - Kings of Metal MMXIV

So Manowar has returned with their re-recorded version of their 1988 album Kings of Metal. Manowar have always been a strange bunch to me with their over the top "true metal" image. Most of their classic albums have had some truly killer tracks with a bunch of filler. In all honesty, the band has not done anything even remotely interesting since 2002 with Warriors of the World and even then only 60% of the album was even metal. Kings of Metal is actually one of my favorites by them and I bought the original when it came out so I was interested in hearing this. Well folks, if you thought that Lord of Steel was the death of the band, this release is the nail in the coffin.

The track list is a bit different on this album than on the original. They changed some of the song titles as you'll see (with all of the song titles having MMXIV in them). The album start's off with one of Manowar's greatest songs ever, "Hail and Kill." This song originally had the biggest balls of any Manowar song ever done. It defined metal. From the first note of the re-recording it's apparent that it's tuned down and slower. Eric Adams sounds okay but far from his glory days and it's apparent that it's tuned down for one reason...he can't hit the notes anymore. His screams are not as ballsy or as clear as in his prime and they sound forced. The production stands out as extremely slick with absolutely no balls at all. We can't blame that on the new millennium with all digital production since this album was originally was recorded in an all digital format. It actually sounds like Manowar does "Dad rock." It's like it was recorded on a cheap pro-tools rig on a shitty budget.

The disappointments keep coming as the remainder of the album is more of the same. "Kings of Metal", "THE Heart of Steel", "ON (wtf?) Wheels of Fire", and " THE Blood of the Kings",  the other ballsy songs on the album, have been brutally castrated by the production and the stale recording. And what the fuck is up with putting "The" in front of the titles of the songs?  What would they do if any other band would have butchered these songs like this? Joey DeMaio would have called them out! Why would they do this to their own songs? And don't get me started on " THE Sting of the Bumblebee." There's actually a metronome beeping on it! It's Joey being even more pompous than ever with him actually advertising his bass solo being 300bpm. So what!! It's sad and embarrassing.  Even songs like "A Warriors Prayer" and "THY (lol) Crown and THY Ring" are worse and more cheesy than the originals.

Manowar have been going down this road for a while now. Each time they announce a release, I get my hopes up that they may at least try and recapture a little of their former glory. They've never been the most consistent band in metal but recently they have not done anything worth listening to. Now it seems that it is time for them to hang up their instruments and call it a day. They should have gone out on somewhat of a high note with "Warriors of the World". Their over the top true metal image used to be their "schtick" but now it's just embarrassing. Maybe they should just be like Kiss and do "Farewell Tours" every few years and only play their "classics." Anything is better than this.

1.0/10

Queensryche - Queensryche

Okay, I am an old metal head and I grew up on Queensryche. I remember when the self titled EP came out and, like most metal heads of the time, was floored by this guy's vocals. How the fuck did this guy learn how to sing like that? Was this Rob Halford's love child? I became an instant fan of the band and believed (and still do) that Geoff Tate had (you see how I said HAD) the best voice in metal at one time. We all know the story...three essential albums and one good album after the release of the EP. Then it all went to shit!

So we get to 2012 and it seems that the band finally decided that they turned to shit because of the same man that made them great...Geoff Tate. So they fire him and bring in Todd La Torre from Crimson Glory. They start playing shows focusing on their earlier material. All the while a butthurt Geoff Tate decides that he's going to get a band of wash ups and call his band Queensryche too. WTF is going on? Will we actually get a decent Queensryche album now. Will this shake up make everything right in the world?

So, we fast forward to June 2013 and we get a new Queensryche album (if you can call thirty-five minutes an album). Metal heads are waiting on the edge of their seats to see if they will return to their former glory. Well, I'm sorry to say that what we got was an almost EP of mostly homogenized hard rock with minimal metal to be found. And what happened?  You got people jizzing all over themselves saying that Queensryche went "back to their roots." What album were they listening to? And don't get me started on the production! This is over loud production where the drums and base drown out the guitars. And the guitars have this strange thin sound to them and are buried WAY down in the mix.

Okay, before I get carried away here let me clarify where I stand with Queensryche. The EP, The Warning, Rage For Order, and Operation: Mindcrime are essential metal albums...period. These albums are as close to perfect as metal albums can get. Empire was a really good and enjoyable hard rock album with some metal here and there. Every album after that was absolute shit...including Promised Land. I still don't know why that album gets so much praise. So, to me, a back to their roots would be a heavy metal album from Queensryche and they failed to deliver that. Instead the band decided to play it really safe and make an almost sort of metal album. The opener, "Where Dreams Go to Die" is a really good metal song that would not have been out of place on Mindcrime. Sadly their are not too many more moments like that to be found on the album.

Todd La Torre is actually the perfect replacement for Geoff Tate. He has pretty much the same sound to his voice with a touch of James Rivera in his lower registers. Sadly this all goes to waste because most of the songs on this album are just mediocre. "Spore" seems to have a nice riff going throughout the song and would not be too out of place on Rage For Order were it not for the production. "In This Light", "Vindication", and "Fallout" are decent catchy songs but they still seem to play it really safe and have very minimal metal in them. The rest of the album is just so mediocre. Where's the metal??

So here we have Queensryche with an excellent new singer and plenty of potential. So why did they play it so safe? Did they rush this album just to put out something because of Tate releasing his abortion under the Queensryche name? This is the best album since Empire but that is not saying much at all. Their next album needs to crank up the metal or I will, once again, write this band off for good. So sad.

6/10

Iced Earth - Plagues of Babylon

I really wanted to hate this album.  The first time I heard it I was very disappointed.  I found it to be uninspired and after "Dystopia" was a huge letdown.  I've been a fan of Iced Earth since the mid 90s and have seem them 4 times, including their stint with "Ripper" Owens (which was not THAT bad IMO).  We all know that Jon Schaffer and company have not been the most consistent band in metal.  Iced Earth has created some of metal's best albums....and some of metal's biggest turds. That being said, this album has actually grown on me after subsequent listens.  At times it does seem as though Jon has run out of ideas and at other times it seems like his formula fits perfectly.

The album begins with the title track which clocks in at a rather drawn out 7:47.  It's a bit drawn out in the beginning and could stand to have a few minutes knocked off.  Once it gets going it becomes much more enjoyable and is a typical Iced Earth tune.  The shining star on this and other songs on the album are the solos.  Troy Steele is the best lead guitarist that the band has had since Randall Shawver.  The lyrics are trying to hard to be dark and gloomy but come off as a bit silly.  "Demoncide" picks the pace up a bit and reminds me of classic Iced Earth with Jon's signature riffs used moderately as not to become redundant.  The chorus is catchy and the lyrics are much better than with the previous song.

One thing that I find myself thinking when listening to this album is that it reminds me of bits and pieces of their previous albums....turds included.  "The Culling" is a slower song that seems to just prod along with not much direction.  The solo is very catchy but doesn't really make the song that much better.  "If I Could See You" is a ballad that is just completely forgettable.  "Resistance" is so inconsistent it rocks in places then plods along in other. "Peacemaker" starts off sounding like "Simple Man" then picks it up as the song goes on.  The lyrics are Jon's pro Second Amendment statement.  I'm not sure what to make of it. "Spirit of the Times" (Sons of Liberty cover) and "Highwayman" are just bad.

Then songs like "Among The Living Dead", "The End?", "Cthulhu", and "Parasite" almost take me back to classic Iced Earth.  Not ALL the way back but almost.  Again, the shining star of this album is Mr. Steele. I'm not sure what to make of Stu Block.  Does he really sound like Barlow or is he going out of his way to do so?  Sometimes it feels the latter is more accurate.  I'm just not sure what he's trying to do.  I guess it works in places and not in others.

I think Jon and the boys are at a crossroads right now.  This album is not awful but it's also not as good as I know they can be.  Has Jon completely run out of ideas?  Could be...but he can still pull a few goods ones out of his hat....or du-rag.

7/10