Интервю със STEVE „ZETRO“ SOUZA (HATRIOT)

There has been more than an year (in which we managed to speak to his sons as well) since we last spoke to the thrash legend Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza. Now we have an occasion to do it again as we expect „Dawn Of The Centurion“, the Hatriot’s second record, to come out in early 2014. The Steve’s answers reached us a bit late, but this doesn’t actually matter – he is one of those people, that always have sometning to say. Here we go.

“Heroes Of Origin” has been released in January. Seems like you have worked hard and cannot wait to enter the studio again?

We are constantly working on music and rehearsing, so there is never a shortage of ideas.  To be honest, I thought we would be on the road supporting “Heroes Of Origin,” but there were not as many opportunities to do that as we had hoped, so rather than sit around I wanted to stay busy.  That’s why we have focused so hard on getting a second album together.  I like to keep working.  If you become stagnant then it is just too easy to lose your momentum, and we have a lot of momentum going from the first record.  We chose to keep pushing forward, instead of waiting around on the dream tour to land in our lap.

What changed during the past months?

There has just been a natural growth and progression in the band.  I don’t think things have necessarily changed, we have just become tighter as a band, and more focused.  I think the public view of Hatriot has changed some.  There were a lot of haters and nay sayers in the beginning, and “Heroes Of Origin” shut them up pretty quick.  It is such a strong record.  This new one is going to stabilize the band even more.  We are no longer a baby band.  Having a two album catalog definitely legitimizes the band.

What does the title “Dawn Of The New Centurion” stand for?

There isn’t really a concept for the record, other than it is the continuation of „Heroes Of Origin.“  The ‘new centurion’ symbolizes the new chapter in the career of Hatriot.  We are upping the ante a little more with this one.  The songs are more intense and the band is even more aggressive, so it is the new chapter.

“The Fear Within” is a killer song! It sounds more melodic and complex. Is this what we should expect from the rest of the upcoming record?

There are a lot more melodic elements to the new material.  I think the riffs are even heavier.  We are staying true to the sound we created on the first album, but taking it up a notch.  The band is more seasoned now.  We know what works and what doesn’t.  This new album will be classic thrash based but with a modern style.  If you liked “Heroes Of Origin” you will love this one as well.

You said “Heroes Of Origin” was your “Kill ‘Em All” and “DOTNC” was going to be your “Ride The Lightning”. On the August 25th was the “…And Justice For All” 25th anniversary. What is your personal opinion about this album?

I love ‘…And Justice For All.’  It is the last Metallica album that I am able to listen to from start to finish.  It’s a great record.  „Shortest Straw“ is one of their best songs.  I have respect for everything that Metallica has done, but ‘Justice’ is the last true metal record that they made, in my opinion.

With your sons in the band, do you feel like it is your duty to “educate” the young generation? To get them into old school metal values?

My sons are pretty well schooled in the ways of metal.  They grew up around it and it’s pretty hard to have me for a dad and not be a metal head from an early age!  I do teach the guys a lot of things, like letting them know what to expect on tour and how to get endorsements.  The old school metal values come natural to them.  I think this new generation of thrash kids has done its homework and know what’s up.

I was thinking about the song “And Your Children To Be Damned”. Let’s forget about the music for a while. Are really our children damned? What else do we have to teach them these days?

The song isn’t about children literally being damned, but the world isn’t getting any safer, that is for sure.  Things are only going to get more and more violent, and more extreme.  The only thing we can really teach them is to work hard and to be aggressive in life.  You can’t have a passive mentality and expect to survive in the world these days.  Shit is getting too crazy.  It’s kill or be killed.

Your sons answered pretty laconically, when we asked them how they see the political situation in the world today. Now we’d like to ask you – as a more experienced person – the same question.

I am not a fan of politics and I don’t follow a lot of it.  The government is fucking corrupt and they are going to do whatever they want and push their agendas.  Your vote doesn’t really do anything.  I don’t believe the politicians are necessarily working for the good of the people, put it that way.  It’s all about power, control, and greed.

What are you going to include in your concert setlist till the end of the year? Are you planning on surprising the audience with completely unknown songs?

The tour we announced before didn’t quite come together, although we will be in Europe December 12th – 14th.  The new record will not be out until February 2014, so I’d say we will be playing “Heroes Of Origin” in its entirety on those shows, and may throw in a couple new ones just for good measure.  There’s a chance we could put a couple new songs on the internet for fans to get familiar with before the record is released, like a demo version or something.  That would be cool.  You can also count on a few Exodus songs to be in the set.  Our live show will destroy!

Now let us attract the attention of the promoters – are you planning on visiting the Balkans?

We plan on playing everywhere that we can, just as soon as we can.  If we can make it work financially then we are willing to come play anywhere in the world.  Right now we are working with promoters and booking agents to get into the festival circuit and hopefully to land a support slot on a bigger tour.  I want the fans to know that we are willing to come play if we can get promoters to bring us over. Unfortunately it is very expensive to go on tour, so we have to have the support of the promoters around the world to make that happen.

Thank you for the answers. It was all our pleasure.

Thanks to Metal Hangar 18 for once again helping Hatriot to get the word out about the band and what we are doing.  We really appreciate your support.  Thanks to all the fans for continuing to follow my career.  Look for the new Hatriot album, „Dawn Of The New Centurion“, in stores in early 2014.  Keep thrashin’!