Victims of Deception

The first thing one unfamiliar with Victims of Deception should know is that this is one of those long albums clocking in at around an hour in length. So if you can comfortably listen the whole way through ...And Justice for All, this is definitely for you. For context, this came exceptionally late in the lifespan of thrash's second wave in 1991, alongside Dark Angel's Time Does Not Heal and Coroner's Mental Vortex, which were on a similar level of technicality. You will probably be hardpressed to name a thrash classic that was released during the rest of the 90s after the traditional scene met its untimely demise. Oh well, I suppose, because Heathen, already latecomers to 80s thrash, didn't survive the tumultuous decade, splitting up in 1993. But the record they created certainly did fare well and continues to hold up to this day, serving as a stellar example of just how far the boundaries of the thrash genre could be pushed.

Onto the album itself... This is very technical, almost progressive thrash metal, and 7 of the 9 songs are over six minutes in length, both traits which it happens to share with AJFA. Speaking of which, there's plenty more similarities with that album: The guitar tone in particular captures that 'Justice' sound, but it's noticeably less thin and scooped here making it a more pleasant listen. Unfortunately though the guitars are just a bit too quiet forcing me to turn the volume up often. Marc Biedermann's bass meanwhile is a bit of a mixed bag. On 'Hypnotized', it's nearly inaudible, but on 'Fear of the Unknown' it's complementing the crushing main riff to great effect and can be heard a bit more in the mix. The drumming is absolutely phenomenal here with plenty of double bass, albeit slightly clicky, and varied tempos, from slow and impactful on the ballad 'Prisoners of Fate' to blazingly fast on 'Mercy is No Virtue'. That drum solo at the end of the latter song is just brilliant as a closer to the album. The vocalist David White sounds sort of like Joey Belladonna, which I normally wouldn't be a fan of, but his melodic vocals harmonise effectively with the riffs being played, especially on the choruses. In my opinion he adds a lot to the catchiness of the songs here, which is a difficult challenge to achieve when the songs are this long.

Another point of comparison to AJFA is that this has intelligent and dark lyrics too, with the most prominent themes being religion (there's the spoken intro by the infamous Jim Jones at the very beginning), corruption, mass manipulation (hence the album title), individuality, fate and death. Oh, and the Rainbow cover 'Kill the King'; while it is my favourite Rainbow song and isn't all that out of place on here where most songs are uptempo, it obviously lacks the same lyrical approach. Nonetheless it's a welcome diversion after the 9+ minute monolith that is 'Heathen's Song'.

The riffs are sometimes groovy but always incredibly punishing, effortlessly adapting to the myriad changes in time signature, some even rivalling the best ones from Artillery's By Inheritance, and Heathen fortunately know how to do acoustic sections right, letting them build up organically into all-out sonic attacks while providing some much needed variety. The foremost examples are the intros to 'Heathen's Song' and 'Prisoners of Fate'. Alternatively, they just let the guitars loose on the short instrumental 'Guitarmony' where both Lee Altus and Doug Piercy trade solos; speaking of which, the soloing on the entire album is absolutely impeccable.

Now I will be honest, as a few reviewers here have pointed out the playing here isn't really all that technical when compared to something like Control and Resistance, but that also means the songs don't devolve into excessive wankery, overstay their welcome or feel overly forced at any point. Instead, I think the bulk of the 'technical' aspect comes more from the tight yet unpredictable riffing and drumwork, and the clean, almost clinical production allowing every note to be clearly heard, which is definitely a positive quality wise.

Overall, Victims of Deception is a very strong and consistent record start to finish; although the last few tracks aren't as strong as the first three, they are still worth a listen if only for the thought provoking lyrics. The bass could be a bit more prominent on some of the tracks though. Compared to Heathen's debut Breaking the Silence, this is a major step up, with much improved production, better songwriting and more thrash influences instead of speed metal. In summary, it's the definitive Heathen record and an often forgotten tech thrash gem that could have had more exposure and relevance if it had been released earlier, say in 1990, like the band members originally intended.