Victims of Deception

1991, the year that some may recognize as the final gasp of traditional thrash metal, and that some others often dismiss as the tail end of a recession in original ideas that sealed the style’s doom. One thing is definitely clear when looking at the body of heavily ambitious albums that came out this year or the previous one, particularly “Horrorscope”, “Rust In Peace”, “Persistence Of Time” and “Time Does Not Heal”; the end didn’t come for any lack of initiative on the part of the prime movers, save perhaps Metallica. The template had shifted a bit towards something a bit slower, in part due to “South Of Heaven”, and epically longwinded due to the obvious influences of “…And Justice For All”, but the spirit of the style was largely the same as the mid 80s explosion of both the New York and Bay Area scenes.

In the context of these develops stands Heathen, one of the more conventional and clean cut acts to come from the west coast, combining the traditionally melodic heavy metal vocal sound associated with Anthrax and the technically fantastic riffing character of Vio-Lence. Clawing through the vast array of riff driven, monstrously virtuosic albums shelled out by their competitors with a sophomore effort that is often hailed as thrash metal’s final swansong before the emergence of grunge. “Victims Of Deception” is an album that is packed with enough technical prowess to hold some appeal for Voivod fans, yet traditionally oriented enough to rope in all the mainline Big 4 fans who were either intentionally or unintentionally obeying the commands of the mainstream music media to play it safe, with Slayer being a token flirtation with a darker underworld.

The frequent comparisons to Metallica’s famed 1988 commercial breakthrough album are not without some merit, though the commonalities tend to be overblown. Heathen is playing off the same concept of largely longer songs with gradually developing ideas and a similar lyrical foray of socio-political and theological cynicism dominates the mix. But this is an album that actually highlights all of the strong points of Metallica’s 4th album while systematically avoiding every mistake made in the creation of said album. The production is chunky and formidable rather than thin and all but completely bottomless, repetition is minimal while variation is frequent, and the ballad work and instrumental venture are mercifully shorter and more to the point. One could maybe argue that this album should have been written a couple years ago, but even if something of a throwback in a time of change, the quality cannot be denied.

Kicking off with a studio effects saturated preaching session by a fire and brimstone pastor, what ensues is a dark and sinister world of word manipulation and deceit that is “Hypnotized”. At 8 ½ minutes long and eclipsed in length by only one other song, this is one of those grandiose ventures into riff driven aggression that is tempered by a gradual progression from a trudging beast into a raging storm of galloping riff work. At times this thing cooks with the same intensity as “Blackened”; although David White’s vocal attack is less gravely and higher in pitch, providing a unique counterpoint to the heaviness going on beneath. “Opiate Of The Masses” is a bit slower and not quite as fancy, while “Heathen’s Song” starts with a haunting, Crimson Glory inspired acoustic intro before switching on the heavy riff work, but the same balance of hard thrashing and woeful tunefulness endures.

Perhaps the greatest charm of this album, and also one of its more unique aspects amidst a number of similarly long and technical thrashers, is that it is still very firmly rooted in the early 80s speed metal origins that typified albums like “Fistful Of Metal” and “Show No Mercy”. The most obvious example of musical hindsight to this period occurs in the orthodox but heavier reworking of Rainbow’s “Kill The King”, which isn’t really all that far removed from other renditions done by Stratovarius and Primal Fear. But traces of this can be found even amongst songs that are more typical to 1991, even an overt neck-wrecker like “Morbid Curiosity” which is intense enough to rival some of the material on “Beneath The Remains”. All of it results in a healthy variety that makes the extremely long length a lot of these songs all but a non-issue for those used to 4 minute kill sessions courtesy of Sodom’s “Persecution Mania”.

The only thing that is a little bittersweet about this album is that it all but blatantly marks the end of a glorious era for a genre that’s original form has only just recently come back into prominence. It might hold true that there may have been nowhere else for the style to go except for the modern, watered down mess that it became through the importation of newer hardcore and industrial influences courtesy of Pantera and Fear Factory. But even if this were the case (which I personally do not believe), that does little to change the overt superiority that the late 80s through 1991 had to the next 10 years of output by a whole generation of pseudo-thrash bands, let alone the subpar to downright horrid output of the original mainstays who adapted in order to stay on MTV’s regular rotation. For some this album is a classic, but for me it’s almost like a priceless keepsake of a better time. But regardless of one’s individual take on it, the word “essential” accurately describes its nature to thrash and heavy metal enthusiasts across the globe.