Heathen
| Heathen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 Heathen at Hellfest 2013 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Thrash metal , speed metal |
| founding | 1984, 2001 |
| resolution | 1992 |
| Website | www.myspace.com/ |
| Current occupation | |
| David White (1985–1988, 1989–1992, since 2001) | |
| Lee Altus (1984–1992, since 2001) | |
Electric guitar |
Collar Lum (since 2007) |
| Jason Mirza (since 2020) | |
| Jim DeMaria (since 2020) | |
| former members | |
singing |
Sam Kress (1985) |
singing |
Paul Baloff (1988) |
singing |
David wayne (1989) |
guitar |
Jim Sanguinetti (1985) |
guitar |
Doug Piercy (1985-1991) |
guitar |
Thaen Rasmussen (1991-1992) |
guitar |
Ira Black (1991-1992, 2001) |
bass |
Eric Wong (1985-1986) |
bass |
Mike "Yaz" Jastremski (1986–1988, 2001) |
bass |
Marc Biedermann (1989) |
bass |
Vern McElroy (1989) |
bass |
Manny Bravo (1989) |
bass |
Randy Laire † (1991) |
bass |
Jon Torres † (2004-2011) |
bass |
Jason Viebrooks (1991, -?) |
Drums |
Carl Sacco (1984–1988) |
Drums |
Darren Minter (1988-1992, 2001-2013) |
Heathen ( English for 'Heide', 'heathen') is a Thrash / Speed Metal band from San Francisco ( USA ). The band, founded in 1984, released two studio albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s before Heathen split up. The band has been active again since 2001 and is currently under contract with the German record label Nuclear Blast .
history
Founding and Breaking the Silence (1984 to 1990)
Heathen were founded in late 1984 by friends Lee Altus ( guitar ) and Carl Sacco ( drums ). While Heathen was Altus' first band, Sacco was able to gain experience in the groups Metal Church and Murder . Guitarists Jim Sanguinetti and singer Sam Kress completed the first line-up, which played their first and only concert in April 1985. The concert was played without a bassist as the group could not find a suitable musician for the post. Sanguinetti left the band and went to Mordred . He was replaced by Doug Piercy, who previously played with Anvil Chorus , among others . At the end of 1985 Sam Kress had to leave the band. He was succeeded by the former blind illusion singer David White. A short time later, Eric Wong, a permanent bassist, was added to the group. The first concert with this line-up took place on February 9, 1986 in San Francisco. In April 1986 the band recorded their first demo entitled Pray for Death , which brought the band a contract with Combat Records.
Doug Piercy made a name for himself as a producer during 1986 . Under his direction, bands like Mordred and Legacy, from which the band Testament emerged , played demos. Shortly before the start of the recordings for Heathen's debut album, Eric Wong was introduced by Mike "Yaz" Jastremski, who previously a. a. played at Griffin , replaced. Breaking the Silence was recorded in the spring of 1987 and released in May of the same year. The album was produced by Montrose singer Ronnie Montrose and received good reviews from the press. The video for the single Set Me Free , a The-Sweet - cover , was several times by MTV on the show Headbanger's Ball shown. In total, the album sold over 100,000 times worldwide. In early 1988 the band went on their first tour of North America. After the tour, Sacco left the band due to musical differences. He was succeeded by Darren Minter, who previously played for Dissident Aggressor . Singer David White left the band in early 1989 due to personal and musical differences of opinion. Former Exodus singer Paul Baloff took his place for a few months.
In November 1988, Heathen recorded a two-song demo with Baloff. After it turned out that Baloff's vocals did not fit the style of the band, Heathen split from Baloff. For a couple of weeks David Wayne from Metal Church took over the position of singer. A short time later the band and David White resolved their disagreements, so that White returned to the band. Jastremski left Heathen and formed the band Pigs . In the following time Vern McElroy and Manny Bravo took over the vacant position on bass.
Victims of Deception and Dissolution (1991 to 2000)
In March 1991 the second album Victims of Deception was released via Roadrunner Records , on which Marc Biedermann from the band Blind Illusion played the bass. Like its predecessor, Victims of Deception received excellent reviews. The sales figures of the previous album were not reached, however.
Heathen toured Europe with Sepultura and Sacred Reich . Since Heathen received little support from their record company, the band had to pay most of the costs out of pocket. The band members sold parts of their record collection to finance it. Heathen's bass player was now Randy Laire. After returning from Europe, Heathen was dropped by Roadrunner Records. Guitarist Doug Piercy left the band, moved to Germany and founded the band The Company . His successor Thaen Rasmussen (ex-Anvil Chorus) did not stay long with the band and was replaced by Ira Black. Bassist Randy Laire was killed in a car accident and was replaced by Jason Vie Brooks. In the spring of 1992 the band played a self-produced EP in honor of Laire with covers by Queen , Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang . However, the EP was never released.
Lee Altus and Darren Minter left Heathen for Die Krupps , after which Heathen broke up. Minter had to leave Krupps in 1994 after serving a six-month prison sentence for illegally possessing weapons. Altus got out in 1997 after a dispute with the Krupps singer Jürgen Engler. Ira Black later played Vicious Rumors , while the short-term bassist Jason Vie Brooks at Grip Inc. was active.
Reunification and The Evolution of Chaos (2001 to 2018)
In spring 2001 there was reunification. In the line-up of David White, Lee Altus, Ira Black, Mike Jastremski and Darren Minter, the band played at the "Thrash of the Titans" benefit festival. The proceeds of this festival were used to fund the cancer treatments of Testament singer Chuck Billy and Death singer / guitarist Chuck Schuldiner . In addition to Heathen, the festival saw reunions of bands such as Death Angel , Exodus and Forbidden . A year later, Heathen played at Wacken Open Air . In late 2003 the band recorded the album Recovered , which includes re-recordings of older material as well as cover versions of Queen , Tygers of Pan Tang , Thin Lizzy and Sweet Savage . A year later, the DVD Heathen Uncovered was released .
Mike Jastremski left the band in June 2004 and was replaced by former Lääz Rockit bassist Jon Torres. In January 2005 Heathen recorded the Demo Demo 2005 , which was made available for free download on the band's homepage . Jastremski died of a heart attack in May 2005 while on drug withdrawal therapy . A short time later, Altus joined the band Exodus. In the fall of that year, Heathen toured Europe with Nuclear Assault . In early 2006, Heathen was in negotiations with the French record label Seasons of Mist. However, a contract was not concluded.
The band eventually signed a contract with Mascot Records . Drummer Darren Minter left the band temporarily. In the meantime, Mark Hernandez (including ex- Vio-lence ) took over Minter's post. With Kragen Lum , a new guitarist was added to the band in 2007. In the summer of 2008 the band recorded their third album The Evolution of Chaos . The album was originally supposed to be released in summer 2009, but has been postponed several times due to production problems. The release finally took place on January 29, 2010. The album again received excellent reviews and Heathen reached number 75 in the German album charts for the first time a chart placement. Heathen toured Europe in the fall of 2010, supporting Destruction and Overkill .
Another European tour followed a year later, supporting Sepultura, Exodus and Destruction. In April 2012 Heathen were signed by Nuclear Blast. In May 2013, drummer Darren Minter left the band for personal reasons. For the European tour in spring 2013 with the support groups Generation Kill and Dust Bolt , he was replaced by the former Slayer drummer Jon Dette . At the end of 2017, the band digitally released the compilation Pray for Death (The Complete Demo Collection) , which contains all of Heathen's demo recordings between 1986 and 2005. A year later it was released on CD and LP . On January 31, 2020, the studio album The Evolution of Chaos was re-released. The album has been remastered and contains a DVD with a two-hour documentary about the creation of the album and a recording of a concert in Japan from 2009.
Empire of the Blind (since 2019)
It was not until the summer of 2019 that the band started pre-production for their fourth studio album. In March 2020, the band announced their new studio album, Empire of the Blind , which is slated for release in 2020. The album was written almost exclusively by the guitarist Kragen Lum and produced by "Zeuss" (civil: Christopher Harris).
style
Heathen are usually perceived as Thrash Metal, occasionally also as a Speed Metal band. The band attaches great importance to melodic instrumentation in connection with aggressive guitar riffs . Thomas Kupfer from the German magazine Rock Hard describes Heathen as the most melodic and filigree representatives of the genre. While the songs on the debut album were mostly played at a fast pace, the songs on Victims of Deception are more mid-tempo. With the second album, the songs became more complex and progressive. The high, melodic vocals of David White are atypical for Thrash Metal. In an interview with the German magazine Metal Hammer , the guitarist and main composer Lee Altus stated that the band was and is never a real Thrash Metal band in principle.
"It has always been important to us that the typical Heathen sound is composed of many different pieces of the puzzle - otherwise you will only remember the album in retrospect without being able to name the songs."
The band's main influences include the New Wave of British Heavy Metal , Thrash Metal bands like Metallica and Exodus, but also rock bands from the 1970s like Rainbow.
reception
Despite excellent reviews from the trade press, the band could not achieve any commercial successes such as B. Metallica, Slayer , Anthrax or Megadeth achieve. Heathen are often referred to as one of the most underrated bands in Thrash Metal. The German metal magazine Rock Hard named the albums Victims of Deception and The Evolution of Chaos album of the month.
The album Victims of Deception was ranked 136th in the book Best of Rock & Metal , in which the German rock-hard magazine lists the 500 best rock and metal albums in its opinion. According to Thomas Kupfer, the band featured on this album an “unbelievable fireworks display of musical quality and precision” and described Victims of Deception as a “great moment of Bay Area sound”. In spring 2017 the German magazine Deaf Forever published a list of the 100 best speed metal albums of all time. Here occupied Breaking the Silence 16th and Victims of Deception place 34th
Discography
Albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
|||
| 1987 |
Breaking the Silence Combat Records |
- |
First published: May 1, 1987
|
| 1991 |
Victims of Deception Roadrunner Records |
- |
First published: March 11, 1991
|
| 2010 |
The Evolution of Chaos Mascot Records |
DE75 (1 week) DE |
First published: January 29, 2010
|
Compilations
- 2004: Recovered (Relentless Records)
- 2017: Pray for Death (The Complete Demo Collection)
Video albums
- 2004: Heathen Uncovered
Singles
- 1987: Set Me Free (Combat Records)
- 1991: Kill the King (Roadrunner Records)
- 1991: Prisoners of Fate
Demos
- 1986: Pray for Death
- 1988: Demo with Paul Baloff
- 2005: Demo 2005
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexandra Michels: Heathen: Jon Torres passed away , September 4, 2013, accessed September 6, 2013.
- ^ Heathen Signs With Nuclear Blast Records. Blabbermouth.net , accessed April 14, 2018 .
- ^ A b c Garry Sharpe-Young : Heathen Biography. (No longer available online.) MusicMight, archived from the original on April 14, 2018 ; accessed on February 26, 2013 (English).
- ↑ Heathen biography. laut.de , accessed on February 26, 2013 .
- ↑ Thomas Kupfer: A coat full of schnapps . In: Rock Hard , May 2004, p. 101.
- ↑ Holger Stratmann (Ed.): Rock Hard Encyclopedia . Rock Hard, Dortmund 1998, ISBN 3-9805171-0-1 , p. 159 .
- ^ Heathen Reunite, Begin Work On New Album. Blabbermouth.net, accessed April 14, 2018 .
- ^ Heathen: New Album Title, Artwork Revealed. Blabbermouth.net, accessed April 14, 2018 .
- ↑ OVERKILL, DESTRUCTION, HEATHEN To Team Up For European Tour. Blabbermouth.net, accessed March 2, 2020 .
- ↑ HEATHEN Signs With NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS. Blabbermouth.net, accessed March 2, 2020 .
- ^ Drummer Jon Dette To Play For Heathen On European Tour. Blabbermouth.net, accessed July 22, 2013 .
- ↑ Rüdiger floor: HEATHEN: Demo Collection "Pray For Death" released digitally. Powermetal.de , accessed on December 12, 2017 .
- ↑ HEATHEN: Lyric Video For 'Control By Chaos' From 'The Evolution Of Chaos' 10th-Anniversary Remastered Reissue. Blabbermouth.net, accessed March 2, 2020 .
- ↑ HEATHEN In Pre-Production For First Album In A Decade. Blabbermouth.net, accessed March 1, 2020 .
- ↑ HEATHEN To Release 'Empire Of The Blind' album. Blabbermouth.net, accessed March 1, 2020 .
- ^ Arto Lehtinen: INTERVIEW WITH DAVID WHITE FROM HEATHEN. Metal Rules, accessed March 20, 2020 .
- ↑ The 25 Most Important Thrash Albums of All Time . In: Rock Hard , June 2009, p. 86.
- ↑ Manuel Liebler: Thrash Talk . In: Metal Hammer , February 2010, p. 57
- ^ Heathen Artist Info. Mascot Records , archived from the original on September 29, 2010 ; accessed on February 26, 2013 (English).
- ^ Frank Albrecht: Heathen - The Evolution of Chaos. Rock Hard, accessed October 21, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Rock Hard (Ed.): Best of Rock & Metal - The 500 strongest discs of all time . HEEL Verlag, Königswinter 2005, ISBN 3-89880-517-4 , p. 167 .
- ↑ Götz Kühnemund : A revolution . In: Deaf Forever , No. 17, pp. 24-44