Heathen

  • San Francisco, CA
    hometown
  • Hip-Hop
    genre
  • 1984
    started
  • Bio
    full story
  • Share
  • Similar
Close

About Heathen

Heathen is an American thrash metal band originating from the Bay Area San Francisco, founded in 1984 by guitarist Lee Altus and drummer Carl Sacco. They have released three albums, Breaking the Silence (1987), Victims of Deception (1991) and The Evolution of Chaos (2010). History edit: First era (1984-1992) edit: 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 (Who went on to found the band Mordred). Shortly after their first gig in 1985, Kress and Sanguinetti 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 this 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, acoustic intros or outros, and fast-paced melodic shred solos. Heathen's break came when they released their Pray For Death demo, which in 1987 resulted in their signing by Combat Records. Shortly after their signing Eric Wong left the band to join Piranha, and was replaced on bass by former Griffin guitarist Mike "Yaz" Jastremski. 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 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 a few months the late ex-Exodus vocalist Paul Baloff became the band's vocalist. They also briefly toured with late Metal Church vocalist David Wayne. In late 1988, Rick Weaver was recruited from The Dispossessed who had opened for the Midwest leg of the Heathen's national tour. He left amicably in 1989 citing creative differences. 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 than Breaking the Silence, 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, retaining little of the NWOBHM influence its predecessor had exhibited. It was also highly critically acclaimed, though it was not quite as commercially successful as Breaking The Silence'. The band's cover of Rainbow's "Kill the King" and original ballad "Prisoners of Fate" were released as singles and had minor rock radio airplay. The band again toured in support of the album, notably touring Europe with Sepultura and Sacred Reich. 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. Return edit: Heathen reunited in 2001, its lineup comprising David White, Lee Altus, Ira Black, Mike Jastremski and Darren Minter, to play the Thrash of the Titans benefit 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, Jastremski left the band again, and was replaced by Ulysses Siren bassist Jon Torres. An EP, Recovered was released on Relentless Metal Records, consisting of Victims of Deception-era demos and newly-recorded cover songs. A new demo was released in August 2005, containing three new songs. Heathen recruited Terry Lauderdale in 2005 to be the second guitarist in the group and toured across Europe. Also in 2005, Lee Altus joined Bay Area thrashers Exodus, but remained a member of Heathen. In November 2007, the band recruited Prototype guitarist Kragen Lum and Mark Hernandez to replace Darren Minter and Lauderdale.Minter returned to the band the following year. The band released The Evolution Of Chaos on King Records in Japan Dec 23, 2009, on Mascot Records in Europe Jan. 25, 2010, and on Mascot Records USA in America in February 2010. Heathen played at the Rock Hard Festival in Germany 2009 and later supported Testament, Exodus, and Kreator at Thrash Domination in Kawasaki, Japan. In support of their first original album since 1991, "The Evolution Of Chaos", Heathen toured in April and May 2010 after having to cancel their planned March dates. In 2012, Heathen announced that they had signed a contract with Nuclear Blast Records for future albums. Thrashfest Classics 2011 European Tour edit: Beginning November 25, 2011 Heathen took to the stage all over Europe on the Thrashfest Classics 2011 European Tour 2011. The bill also included Sepultura, Exodus, Destruction and Mortal Sin. The tour concluded in Vienna, Austria on December 18, 2011.

Source: Wikipedia

Text from this biography licensed under creative commons license
Scroll up Scroll down

News

From position 0, showing 4 items, asking 10
See All
  • Heathen
    Video: Grinderman: "Heathen Child" [NSFW and Totally Bonkers]
    www.pitchfork.com
    shit that appears: a statue that cries blood, a wolfman, the vampire-looking cheerleader that adorns the cover of the "Heathen Child" single, Cave and...
    Read More
  • Heathen
    Listen: Grinderman: "Super Heathen Child" (Featuring Robert Fripp)
    www.pitchfork.com
    If the so-wrong-it's-right video for Grinderman's "Heathen Child" wasn't insane enough for you, you probably have serious issues. But maybe those issu...
    Read More
  • Heathen
    Listen: Grinderman: "Heathen Child"
    www.pitchfork.com
    It's the first single from the second album from Nick Cave's balls-out Grinderman project. It's swampy and bluesy and you may feel like you need a was...
    Read More
  • Heathen
    Katy Perry's Evangelist Mom Penning Tell All About Heathen Daughter's Career
    www.vibe.com
    and is very proud of her accomplishments, but disagrees with a lot of choices she makes in her career. This memoir is to set the record straight. It i...
    Read More

Tour Dates

From position 0, showing 19 items, asking 50
See All
  • Jun 7 Friday
    Berlin, Germany K17
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 9 Sunday
    Hamburg, Germany MarX
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 11 Tuesday
    Warsaw, Poland Progresja
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 12 Wednesday
    Prague, Czech Republic Nová Chmelnice
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 13 Thursday
    Vienna, Austria Escape Metalcorner
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 14 Friday
    Munich, Germany Backstage
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 15 Saturday
    Essen, Germany Turock
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 16 Sunday
    Eindhoven, Netherlands Dynamo Eindhoven Concertzal
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 19 Wednesday
    Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz 3
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 20 Thursday
    Madrid, Spain Rockitchen
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 21 Friday
    Clisson, France Unknown venue
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 21 Friday
    Dokkum, Netherlands Dokk'em Open Air
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 22 Saturday
    Dokkum, Netherlands Dokk'em Open Air
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 23 Sunday
    London, UK The Underworld
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 25 Tuesday
    Pratteln, Switzerland Galerie
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 26 Wednesday
    Siegen, Germany Vortex
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 27 Thursday
    Osnabrück, Germany Bastard Club
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 28 Friday
    Dessel, Belgium Graspop Metal Meeting
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 29 Saturday
    Aalen, Germany Rock It
    Buy Ticket
Are You Heathen? Claim this page | Learn more about Artists.MTV | FAQ for Artists
Heathen Bio | Heathen Tour Dates |
MTV | MTV Jobs | Privacy Policy | User Content Agreement | Copyright | Artist Index | Social Projects Agreements | Ad Choices |
Portions of this page powered by
This site contains content from artists, fans, and writers from around the internet in it's natural form. Such content is not representative of Viacom Media Networks.

©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

  • Explore
    • Popular
    • Emerging
    • Genres
      • Rock
      • Hip Hop
      • Indie
      • Electronic/EDM
      • Country
      • Pop
    • Collections
    • Artist To Watch
  • Search
  • Are you an artist?
    • Claim Your Page
    • Learn More
    • FAQ
    • Opportunities