HEATHEN — Victims of Deception (review)

HEATHEN — Victims of Deception album cover

Album · 1991 · Thrash Metal

4/5 · 2021-07-05
UMUR

"Victims of Deception" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Heathen. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in April 1991. It´s the successor to "Breaking the Silence" from 1987 and features a whole new rhythm section compared to the lineup who recorded the predecessor. Drummer Carl Sacco has been replaced by Darren Minter and bassist Mike Jastremski has been replaced by Marc Biedermann. The latter who was also the frontman/guitarist in Blind Illusion, was not a permanent solution, and the band struggled for the rest of their original run to find a permanent solution on the bassist position.

The changes in the rhythm section, were not the only lineup changes or challenges the band experienced between the release of "Breaking the Silence (1989)" and "Victims of Deception". Lead vocalist David White left Heathen in 1988 and was replaced by former Exodus singer Paul Baloff, with whom they recorded a demo in the fall of 1988. Baloff´s tenure with Heathen would be short though, as the band broke up later that year when bassist Mike Jastremski decided to leave. It was a short break though as Heathen soon after reunited with former Metal Church singer David Wayne fronting the band. Wayne´s tenure would be even shorter than Baloff´s though, and he was replaced by original vocalist David White after only a few days in the band.

Stylistically the material on the 10 track, 64:45 minutes long album are technically well played thrash metal. David White is quite the versatile vocalist, and he can both deliver raw thrash metal vocals and sing more melodic. If I have to compare Heathen to another contemporary thrash metal act, it would be Forbidden. The occasional more melodic sections and singing and the technical skills of the musicians point in that direction.

The tracks are predominantly pretty long (most are between 6 and 9 minutes long) and relatively complex in structure. I wouldn´t call the music highly progressive, but the tracks are a little more complex than your regular vers/chorus structured thrash metal song. The quality of the material is high and consistent throughout, although the choice to cover "Kill the King" by Rainbow, and to place the song as the 4th track on the album, is a bit odd to my ears. There´s nothing wrong with the track or with Heathen´s performance of the track, it just feels a bit wrong on the album with it´s traditional/power metal style and its placement makes the tracklist seem a bit disjointed.

"Victims of Deception" features a powerful, clear, and professional sounding production, and upon conclusion it´s a high quality thrash metal release. Fans of late 80s/early 90s releases by artists like Forbidden, Dark Angel, Toxik, and Metallica should find this an intriguing listen. The music on "Victims of Deception" is just as sophisticated and technically well played as anything those artists put out in those years. Unfortunately for Heathen, they were too late in the game to achieve any notable success with "Victims of Deception" (by 1991 thrash metal was in decline). Had it been released just a couple of years earlier, when thrash metal was still on the rise, they would have had a much better chance of breaking through to a wider audience. That breakthrough never came, and after touring in support of the album, Heathen disbanded in 1993. "Victims of Deception" therefore remains a bit of an unsung gem, that fans of technically well played thrash metal are recommended to seek out. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.