Victims of Deception

By 1991, the sand was shifting beneath thrash metal's feet. Other, newer styles of metal were gaining commercial traction, and the wellspring of creativity that had fueled thrash for the last decade was beginning to run dry. It was in this climate that Heathen released their second album, Victims of Deception, a technical thrash masterwork that has stood the test of time over the 23 years since its release. The album consists of 64 minutes of classic thrash metal, jam packed with brutal riffs, virtuosic solos, epic song structures, and memorable hooks, which combine to form a totally different beast from the band's 1987 debut, Breaking the Silence. While that album was an exuberant outing featuring strong influences from the new wave of British heavy metal, Victims of Deception draws more from the more technically-oriented brand of thrash that cropped up during the late 1980s. The influence of albums such as …And Justice For All and Rust in Peace can clearly be heard all over the record.

The stars of the album are unquestionably the guitar tag-team of Lee Altus and Doug Piercy. Both deliver virtuosic, shred oriented solos with great frequency throughout the record, giving a sense of anticipation to each song. In particular, the guitar duel around the seven-minute mark of "Heathen's Song" could be possibly be the finest collection of solos in the history of thrash metal, rivaling what players such as Testament's Alex Skolnick and the Forbidden duo of Craig Locicero and Tim Calvert were doing around this time. The album is a lengthy one, its first three tracks alone running a combined 25 minutes. This can be a detriment to many thrash albums, but the songwriting and varied compositions, which are packed to the hilt with mosh-worthy material, prevent the songs from dragging and boredom from setting in. Some songs later in the album, notably "Mercy is No Virtue", feature riffs of an intensity and velocity matching Kreator circa Coma of Souls. Even the album's token ballad, "Prisoners of Fate", avoids coming off as cheesy or contrived, mostly thanks to an inspired performance from vocalist David White.

Victims of Deception also benefits from an aurally pleasing production job, courtesy of Rob Beaton. The guitar sound is impressive and crunchy. Darren Minter's drums sound like a toned down version of the clicky tone that Lars Ulrich experimented with on Metallica's …And Justice For All. Although the bass, provided by Blind Illusion's Marc Biedermann, is not especially audible, it is able to shine through in brief moments, such as the acoustic-driven intro to "Fear of the Unknown". David White's vocals are in top form on this album, a marked improvement from his performance on Breaking the Silence. His vocals contrasting nicely with the relentless e-string attack of the rhythm guitars.

Overall, Victims of Deception represents the last and best thrash metal classic. The Bay Area scene, of which Heathen was a part, would fall apart shortly after the album's release, but this record contributes to the scene's continuing legacy. It contains both memorable riffs and technical song structures, and is a masterclass in thrash metal lead guitar playing. Many music fans have an album that can never be topped for them, a stone cold classic of the highest order. For me, that album is Victims of Deception.