celebrating the thrash anniversary of HEATHEN - Victims of Deception

When this album first came out, the metal music magazine Metal Maniacs gave it a stellar review. Ever since then, more and more people have come to appreciate the album. Time has been kind to this release! On The Metal Archives, there is a review that gives the album a 92 out of 100 by 'lonerider, December 27th, 2012.' The reviewer makes a strong case for the album, saying, in part:

Ultimately, however, “Victims of Deception” is an album of astounding quality and consistency, recorded by musicians of remarkable technical prowess. It’s safe to say that a band like Metallica – as the most successful band to emerge from the Bay Area scene, they are the perfect measuring stick – doesn’t hold a candle to Heathen in that category, as the drums, guitars and even the vocals are sometimes light-years ahead of what the likes of Ulrich, Hammett and Hetfield have ever been capable of. That in turn allows the band to infuse more melody and progressive elements into the music whilst retaining plenty of speed and aggressiveness. Particularly the riffing on tracks like “Fear of the Unknown” and “Hypnotized” is positively spectacular. Moreover, the stellar production brings out the best in the band’s performance, giving the guitars a massive sound without stifling the other instruments and various little details in the band’s awe-inspiring delivery.

In closing, “Victims of Deception” is the perfect album to demonstrate that the more iconic and commercially successful bands from the Bay Area scene weren’t necessarily the be-all and end-all in musical quality and that some of the more under-the-radar acts were actually just as good or perhaps sometimes even a little better. With an effort like this under their belt, Heathen were definitely deserving of more widespread acclaim and sustained success than they ended up with, but as we all know, life simply isn’t always fair.

Heathen - Victims of Deception

April 12, 1991 - Roadracer Records

Doug Piercy - Guitars, Songwriting (tracks 7-9)

Darren Minter - Drums

David White-Godfrey - Vocals, Songwriting (tracks 1-3, 5-7, 9, 10)

Lee Altus - Guitars, Songwriting (tracks 1-3, 5, 6, 9, 10)

Heathen - Opiate of the Masses