Heathen

For the past 36 years, venerated thrash metal outfit Heathen have abided by their never-say-die attitude. Formed in 1984 by guitarist Lee Altus in San Francisco’s Bay Area—home to Exodus, Metallica, Testament, and Death Angel—Heathen quickly separated themselves from the pack by expertly fusing David White’s (aka David Godfrey) distinctive vocals with a melody-driven and forward-thinking musical style. On the strength of their “Pray for Death” demo in 1986, the Californians signed a deal with Combat Records. In the spring of the following year, Heathen released their debut album, “Breaking the Silence,” to large-scale acclaim. The band’s brand of intelligent yet aggressive thrash appealed not only to the genre’s core demographic, but also metallers looking for brains behind the brawn. MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball latched on quickly, routinely playing the video for “Set Me Free,” a cover of the Sweet classic.

After “Breaking the Silence,” Heathen’s lineup shifted. Drummer Darren Minter replaced Carl Sacco and Marc Biedermann (Blind Illusion) was brought on as a session player to fill the gap left by Mike Jastremski. The band also changed over to the Roadracer label for their second album, “Victims of Deception.” Released in spring 1991, Heathen’s sophomore album pivoted on two dominant singles “Prisoners of Fate” and a cover of the Rainbow hit “Kill the King.” Received well by press and fan alike, “Victims of Deception” would be Heathen’s last album until the group resurfaced with a new lineup that included Prototype guitarist Kragen Lum and a new album, “The Evolution of Chaos,” in 2010. Indeed, 19 years separate the two albums, but the core tenets of Heathen’s sound—aggression and melody powered by skilled musicianship—were intact. Fans hailed “The Evolution of Chaos” as a bonafide comeback album, while Germany’s Rock Hard magazine called “The Evolution of Chaos” a “masterpiece” and Metal Hammer had it slotted early as “one of the best albums of the year.” A video was filmed for the war-themed single “Dying Season.”

A decade on ice, Heathen return once more with new album, “Empire of the Blind.” Striking from start (“The Blight”) to finish (“The Gods Divide”) and everywhere in-between (“Shrine of Apathy” and the title track), the group’s long-awaited fourth album will undoubtedly restore faith in vicious yet brainy thrash, the very kind that put Heathen on the map. Featuring a thunderous Chris “Zeuss” Harris (Hatebreed, Act of Defiance) production, Travis Smith’s (Overkill, Exhorder) breathtaking cover art, and an inquisitive yet bleak lyrical concept, “Empire of the Blind” is the cure for dark times. No finer thrash metal album will be able to sate metaldom’s hunger in 2020. Heathen are back! And this time it’s for keeps.