After Steve "Zetro" Souza returned in triumph to Exodus, I assumed that was the the last we were going to see of Hatriot, which he had founded with his two sons. But though Zetro doesn't have enough time for both bands, his heirs prove themselves to be more than equal to carrying on his legacy. It takes a sharp ear to realize that the snarled vocals and furious delivery on From Days Unto Darkness are those not of Zetro, but of Cody Souza.

Nor is the style substantially different from Dawn of the New Centurion. The only softness on the whole record are a few of the intros, and the fat, chunky sound of the rhythm guitar riffing is a product of the 80s with only the slightest of nods toward the modern age. If anything, the desire for the heaviest, hardest riffing is sometimes taken overboard; I'd have been happier if the clean, sharp attack of Carnival of Execution, which is dominated by guitar arpeggios and minor keys, was employed elsewhere. Instead, sometimes the ferocity gets so great that the song loses cohesion; much like the lyrics, which aren't as political as on the last album, but also aren't particularly clever -- or as funny.

Hatriot without Zetro is nonetheless able to put together a quite satisfactory album here, though. Cody Souza's vocals are nearly a dead ringer for those of his father, and there's a pleasing variation even on an album that lives within the tight limits of old-school thrash metal, as well as a strong 80s vibe -- the last song, Ethereal Nightmare is an ode to the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, complete with blood-tinged, half-formed images of Freddy Krueger throughout the lyric video. Hatriot hasn't turned out anything different from what they would have if Zetro was still at the helm, and perhaps that's a good thing.