HeathenEmpire of the Blind

Ten years after their last release and Heathen are back! They’re here to show they are more than also-rans in the classic thrash stakes. Just four albums in 27 years makes them far less prolific than their contemporaries current and past, but what the catalogue lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality.

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Always more than a straight-up thrash band at heart, Empire of the Blind opens up Heathen’s musical flavours with a warm production sheen from Zeuss that in no way diminishes their power or individuality.

The real hallmarks of Heathen’s sound are melody and Dave White’s distinctively traditional vocal style, forever a stark contrasting element in a genre defined by darker and more chaotic singing.

When they step up to the plate and launch brisk, crunchy and heavy riffs like In Black and Blood to Be Let, Heathen are simply reminding everyone that under all the modern touches and melodic metalisms, they are still very much a thrash band. 

Tracks like Sun in My Hand push those angles fervently, Shrine of Apathy a strong reminder of how adept Heathen is at slower, balladic numbers. A Fine Red Mist stands as a testament to the twin guitar team of Lee Altus and Kragan Lum as their high velocity, melodic lead work intersects with no intervention from White, and healthy support from newly minted rhythm pairing Jason Mirza and Jim DeMaria. 

When they step up to the plate and launch brisk, crunchy and heavy riffs like those in tunes like In Black and Blood to Be Let, however, Heathen are simply reminding everyone that under all the modern touches and melodic metal aspects, they are still very much a thrash band. 

Empire of the Blind is a wildly diverse but strongly cohesive metal record from a band very much unafraid to bend the rules and defy the conventions of their genre.

STANDOUT TRACKS: The Blight, Shrine of Apathy, Blood to Be Let
STICK THIS NEXT TO: Death Angel, Metal Church, Testament