The San Francisco Bay Area has produced what is undoubtedly the greatest lineage of Heavy Metal in the 30-odd years of the genre's existence. However, recent times called for the reformation of some of the Bay Area's finest Thrash bands looking to rise up once more and reclaim the throne of heavy music. Such is Heathen's story.
One of the most unique bands to rise from the second wave of the Bay Area Thrash explosion, Heathen's style is characterized by high-speed precision guitar with harmony sections coupled with melodic singing.
Heathen was formed in 1984 by guitarist Lee Altus and drummer Carl Sacco (formerly of Metal Church), who later recruited lead vocalist Sam Kress and guitarist Jim Sanguinetti. Shortly after their first gig in 1985, Sam Kress and Jim Sanguinetti (the latter went on to form the band Mordred) left the group and were replaced by vocalist David Godfrey (formerly of Blind Illusion) and guitarist Doug Piercy (formerly of Anvil Chorus and Control). The band also recruited bassist Eric Wong around the same time. This lineup debuted in early 1986 and soon became prolific around the Bay Area. Their early style could be described as the aggression of thrash metal combined with NWOBHM-style vocals and arrangements.
Heathen's "big break" came when they released their Pray For Death demo, which paid off in 1987 with their signing by Combat Records. Shortly after their signing Eric Wong left the band to join Piranha. Former Griffin guitarist Mike "Yaz" Jastremski became the new bassist.
Heathen's debut album Breaking the Silence was released in 1987. The album was well received critically and featured one very successful single, a cover of the 1970s glam rock band Sweet's song "Set Me Free". The song got some rock radio airplay and the video received heavy rotation on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. The band embarked on a tour in support of the album.
In 1988 Carl Sacco left due to musical differences. He was replaced by Darren Minter. Mike Jastremski left the band shortly after, and the band went through number of bassists and vocalists between 1988 and 1991. In 1989 David Godfrey left the band due to personal and musical differences. For few months the late ex-Exodus vocalist Paul Baloff became the bands vocalist. They also briefly recruited late Metal Church vocalist David Wayne. In 1990, Godfrey (now going by David White) returned to Heathen.
In order to record their album Victims of Deception, Heathen recruited Blind Illusion mainman Marc Biedermann to play bass in the studio. The album was released in 1991 through Roadrunner Records. Victims of Deception was considerably more technical, featuring odd time signatures, more complex riffs and songs, tempo and key changes, and longer song lengths, and is often described as progressive thrash metal. It was also critically acclaimed, though it was not quite as commercially successful as Breaking The Silence'. The cover of Rainbow's "Kill the King" and original ballad "Prisoners of Fate" were released as singles and had minor rock radio airplay.
That year Heathen found a permanent bassist in Randy Laire and toured extensively until the untimely death of Laire and his girlfriend in a car accident. The band replaced him with Jason Viebrooks. Doug Piercy departed from the band in 1992 and was replaced by Ira Black. The band planned to record a covers EP dedicated to Laire and his girlfriend as well as White's deceased brother Jeffery. But the band went on hiatus in 1992.
In 2001, Heathen reunited with David White, Lee Altus, Ira Black, Mike Jastremski and Darren Minter, to play the Thrash of the Titans concert to help Chuck Billy and Chuck Schuldiner raise funds for Billy's throat cancer treatment and Schuldiner's brain cancer treatment. The concert was a huge success, but in 2004, Mike "Yaz" Jastremski left the band again, and was replaced by Ulysses Siren bassist Jon Torres. A full-length album, Recovered was released on Relentless Metal Records, consisting of re-recorded old material and cover songs. A new demo was released in August 2005, containing three new songs.
In 2005, Heathen recruited Terry Lauderdale to be the second guitarist and toured across Europe. Also in 2005, Lee Altus joined Bay Area thrashers Exodus, but remained on Heathen's lineup. In November 2007, the band recruited Prototype guitarist Kragen Lum and Mark Hernandez to replace Minter and Piecy. In addition, drummer Darren Minter returned to the band. released The Evolution of Chaos on King Records in Japan Dec 23, 2009, Mascot Records Europe Jan. 25, 2010 and Mascot Records USA in Feb 2010.
Heathen played at the Rock Hard Festival in Germany 2009, and later supported Testament, Exodus, and Kreator at Thrash Domination in Kawasaki, Japan, where they were voted best band by the fans on the Thrash Domination forum. In support of Heathen's first original album since 1991, "Evolution Of Chaos", Heathen toured in April and May 2010 after having to cancel their planned March dates.