Heathen

Yet another San Francisco thrash metal band. Sure have a lot of these...

"Breaking the Silence" (Century Media reissue)

  1. "Death by Hanging" (5:04)
  2. "Goblins Blade" (4:33)
  3. "Open the Grave" (7:21)
  4. "Pray for Death" (3:42)
  5. "Set Me Free" (3:46)
  6. "Breaking the Silence" (5:50)
  7. "Worlds End" (7:05)
  8. "Save the Skull" (5:20)
  9. "Heathen" (6:33)
  10. "Pray for Death"--demo (5:23)
  11. "Goblins Blade"--demo (4:30)
  12. "Open the Grave"--demo (7:21)
  13. "Heathen"--demo (6:57)

"Set Me Free" (a Sweet song, also covered by Saxon) got a lot of airplay on Headbanger's Ball, but is totally non-indicative of the band's music. The real standout tracks here are "Death by Hanging", "Open the Grave", and of course the eponymous "Heathen".

I owned the original Combat version for quite a while, and got a few requests for it (one guy offered me Sacrifice AND Blind Illusion...probably should have taken that offer, but no matter now.) Upgrading to the CM reissue was sort of a clusterfuck...I offered the Combat CD to Ralf Walter, since I felt I owed him something for all the free stuff he's been giving me. However, I had to pull out of that deal when I got into negotiations with "Sentinel Steel" and needed this CD as a bargaining chip (see the Agent Steel page for the FULL story!) It turned the trick, and I got a fairly awesome deal in return. :) Unfortunately, I was disappointed to find out that the "Pray for Death" demo tracks here are virtually IDENTICAL to the original recordings! (Except for an extended intro to "Pray for Death".) Oh well, I still think I came out ahead. Maybe.

"Victims of Deception"

  1. "Hypnotized" (8:35)
  2. "Opiate of the Masses" (7:50)
  3. "Heathen's Song" (9:24)
  4. "Kill the King" (3:35)
  5. "Fear of the Unknown" (7:07)
  6. "Prisoner of Fate" (6:20)
  7. "Morbid Curiosity" (6:26)
  8. "Guitarmony"--instrumental (3:30)
  9. "Mercy is No Virtue" (6:26)
  10. "Timeless Cell of Prophecy" (5:20)

This CD came out a very long time after their debut, and I haven't heard a whit about them since. A solid album, though it's been a long time since I've listened to it. I think it's neat how they've got a second song here named after the band, something Overkill used to do. "Kill the King" is a cover of the Rainbow song.

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