Victims of Deception

I haven't listened to this album in a while, so i've played it twice this weekend to get me in the mood for writing a review. I still really enjoy the last Heathen album so a trip back to the first 2 albums felt necessary. This album was released in 1991 when thrash was at its commercial peak but the creative peak had since passed. What this album lacks in originality it certainly makes up for in musicianship and songwriting.

After the intro speech we get an epic introduction to 'Hypnotized' which reminds me of Metallica. In fact, Metallica's influence is all over the album. If Metallica had released this it would've been massive. This album is clearly influenced by 'And Justice For All' but has a vastly superior production and better songs. Not that i dislike 'Justice' but it has too many flaws to be a masterpiece. It did influence a new wave of more technical thrash though so it deserves praise for helping Heathen create this excellent album.

There's various influences besides Metallica heard throughout. The solos and melodies are like a combination of Megadeth and Iron Maiden, very good and very frequent. I like lots of solos as long as they are good and this album delivers them. The riffs are nice and varied with a few acoustic passages thrown in for good measure, excellent work again. Lee Altus now plays in Exodus so that's a sure sign that this guy knows his stuff when it comes to playing thrash. The bass is provided by Marc Biedermann (Blind Illusion, another great technical thrash band) and sits comfortably in the mix, even getting a cool bass intro on 'Fear of the Unknown'. Drums are typical thrash style but are also varied and fit well with the myriad of time changes and varied riffing. Perhaps the only downside is that this album is particularly long so occasionally a song feels like it could be shorter but this is a minor gripe. Quality songwriting mixed with excellent musicianship make this album one of the very best in thrash. As i said at the start, it may not be the most original work but it's bloody good.

Which leads me to the vocals. David White-Godfrey is a fantastic singer. In thrash terms he falls on the Russ Anderson (Forbidden) side of things. David's voice is somewhat reminiscent of Bruce Dickinson and Geoff Tate but it works well here because this is quite melodic thrash. Some of these choruses are absolutely huge! His vocals particularly suit 'Heathen's Song' and 'Prisoners of Fate', admittedly the semi-ballad tracks. The true test is the Rainbow cover 'Kill the King' and he does Ronnie James Dio no disrespect with this performance.

Victims of Deception has a nice variety of songs with thrashy numbers like 'Hypnotized', 'Morbid Curiosity' and 'Mercy is no Virtue', a fairly faithful Rainbow cover, a ballad (sort of) and the multi-layered epic and album highlight 'Heathen's Song'. This album is both epic and progressive without being pretentious. The only tracks i didn't care for were the instrumental noodle-fest 'Guitarmony' (we know you can play already!) and the bonus cover of 'Hellbound' which doesn't really fit the albums sound.

Heathen were truly the most overlooked band in thrash. They were just as good as classic Metallica and Megadeth but probably came on the scene too late to make a real impact which is a shame. For fans of those bands as well as Coroner, Dark Angel, Blind Illusion....in fact just buy this if you like thrash, you won't be disappointed.

Recommended tracks: Hypnotized, Heathen's Song, Kill the King, Fear of the Unknown