Victims of Deception

Previously, I stated that Heathen's debut album Breaking The Silence was an albumt that showed a transition happening in thrash metal around the time it was released. Numbered were the days when a band could just put out half ass palm muted riffs with entirely whammy bar based solos and sing about Satan and Armageddon. Those days were being cut short, and a new type of thrash metal was starting to emerge. This thrash metal was a musicians genre. This is when the genre starting getting respect and brains, and there are few albums that show this as well as Heathen's second (and final) full length offering, Victims Of Deception.

Victims Of Deception (or VOD for short) is really one of the best thrash metal albums ever to possibly exist. I think that no album after this ever has been able to balance out the thrash and progressive elements of progressive thrash metal quite like it (the only one that beats it is Megadeth's Rust In Peace). This album is heavy and loaded with chugging, fast, and odd metered riffs, mixed with incredibly odd guitar harmonies and rapid lead licks. The album is lyrically loaded with lyrics ranging from the society to religion to the human mind. Heathen have truly outdone themselves on Victims Of Deception, and it will be one hard album to dethrone from it's title as progressive thrash masterpiece.

Alright, in my previous review I think I already stated what's so great about Heathen. Their musicians are like nearly perfect here. I say nearly because I'm a perfectionist but still they are incredibly talented and put that talent to great use. You thought Lee and Doug ripped up the fretboards on Breaking The Silence? Think again. You think Carl Sacco was the best drummer Heathen ever had? Think again. You think David White's vocal abilities were at his prime? Yep, you need to think again. The whole band has multiplied their skills by at least two fold. They really just outdo themselves on VOD by a lot and can't really get any better. It's just that good. Really that tight and that good.

The new musicians here are new drummer Darren Minter and Blind Illusion frontman Marc Biedermann on the bass. Each of these guys are truly great at what they do. I only thought Biedermann was capable of playing the guitar. Man was I proven wrong. When it comes to playing the bass Biedermann is just as tight. His bass lines stick to the guitars but do provide plenty of extra notes to put into use and make them sound more unique. Never is he out of time or anything. Drummer Darren Minter is just as good. His double bass speed is pummeling, rivaling that of your average modern drummer today and then some. The fills he creates are amazing, tight and innovative. Minter's abilities as a time piece are second to none, as he keeps the band in the correct time while keeping up with all the odd meters and weird time signatures that Lee, David and Doug wrote up. Seriously it's hard for you to come by better musicians, and Heathen really got some lucky scores here.

Most of the music here is different from Breaking The Silence. Less of it is written by Doug Piercy and more of it is written by Lee Altus. This means we get more odd metered riffs, more interesting harmonies, more shred in the solos, and just more amazing work. For those of you who need to hear things in simpler terms, compared to Breaking The Silence Victims Of Deception has a more thrash metal sound as opposed to a speed metal sound. I don't think it really gets any better then what you get on Victims Of Deception thanks to what Lee wrote. Musically this album is incredibly sound, and all of it will have you headbanging and wanting to listen to it again and again. That's not to say Piercy doesn't jump in and write some of his own material. Morbid Curiosity is a song written by him, and it's pretty pummeling while being a tad more straight forward then what Lee writes. But when him and Lee put their minds together, you get a song that really just pushes the boundaries. That song is Mercy Is No Virtue. I can't describe how good of a song this is. First off, it's brain crushingly heavy. Second off, it's got amazing lyrics that have to do with governments using psychological oppression (torture, cover ups, propaganda). Third, not only is it thought provoking and heavy, but it's memorable. I listen to this song again and again, and it's something that I can do with the whole album. The whole album is so incredibly memorable that there are really no bad tracks. The only one that I really didn't totally enjoy was Timeless Cell of Prophecy, which sounds like a rehash of ideas used on the first album.

Lyrically, David White really picks up the game. His lyrics are much more powerful and thought provoking on VOD then on Breaking The Silence. Gone are all the occult based themes and in are new themes about society, religion, the human mind, fear, and the industrial military complex. These songs really are truly thought provoking. Hypnotized will make you question Christianity (better then Slayer can), Fear Of The Unknown will make you see just how spineless people are when it comes to trying new things and experiencing something new, and Mercy Is No Virtue will make you see how much information your government is hiding from you all to stay in power. Talk about interesting and powerful, it's really just plain awesome. On top of that, White gets better as a singer. He's totally audible and his vocal patterns are much more catchy. Huge step up in terms of talent.

The production here is a modern one but all the instruments sound like you think they should sound. Nothing overpowers anything else, nothing is out of balance or messed up in the mix, it's just great. The only downside is that I wish it could be louder. Otherwise it's just plain great.

Victims Of Deception is an album that is truly an epitome of thrash metal. It is one one gem that is hard to come by these days, but is well worth finding and listening to. I think anyone who listens to it will like it, and I'll be seeing you on the other side.