┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Heathen - Victims Of Deception + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Rls Date..2020-05-06 Encoder......LAME 3.100 ║ │ │║ Genre.....Thrash Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year......1991 Khz/Bitrate..44.1 / VBR kbps ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper....Anthem Songs........10 ║ │ │║ Source....CD Covers.......Yes ║ │ │║ Url.. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Heathen ║ │ │║ Album : Victims Of Deception ║ │ │║ Label : Roadrunner Records ║ │ │║ Cat.No : APCY-8046 ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ It is no secret that by the time ôVictims of Deceptionö was ║ │ │║ released in the year 1991, the writing was on the wall for ║ │ │║ Bay Area thrash and the thrash genre in general: aside from ║ │ │║ a couple of late classics, one of which was ôVictims of ║ │ │║ Deceptionö, the genre had seen its heyday in the mid to ║ │ │║ late 1980s and was now mired in a fast decline. But then ║ │ │║ along came a bunch of relative newcomers û after all, the ║ │ │║ band had previously put out only one full-length under the ║ │ │║ Heathen moniker û that pulled off the remarkable feat of ║ │ │║ writing an album that rivals and in many ways surpasses ║ │ │║ much of the genreÆs best work from the eighties. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ It remains an interesting question to this day why Heathen, ║ │ │║ who as musicians were superior and as songwriters at least ║ │ │║ equal to a band like Metallica, were never able to make it ║ │ │║ big or garner any widespread success. The answer seems to ║ │ │║ come down to two overriding factors, one I have already ║ │ │║ touched upon: ôVictims of Deceptionö came out a couple of ║ │ │║ years too late for Heathen to take a ride on the proverbial ║ │ │║ thrash bandwagon, which had mostly run out of steam by the ║ │ │║ time the 1990s dawned. The other factor is that the music ║ │ │║ on ôVictims of Deceptionö is more complex and technical ║ │ │║ than Metallica ever were, even considering that ôAnd ║ │ │║ Justice for Allö wasnÆt exactly tailored to mainstream ║ │ │║ success either. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ That in turn brings us to the actual music on ôVictims of ║ │ │║ Deceptionö, which is characterized by a departure from the ║ │ │║ speed metal leanings of the bandÆs debut, ôBreaking the ║ │ │║ Silenceö, and the advent of a thrashier, heavier sound. In ║ │ │║ fact, ôVictims of Deceptionö is vintage Bay Area thrash, ║ │ │║ but with added complexity and a multitude of tempo and riff ║ │ │║ changes to spice things up and make this a textbook example ║ │ │║ for technical thrash done right. As soon as the ominous ║ │ │║ sampled introduction to ôHypnotizedö ends and the massive ║ │ │║ opening riff kicks in, whatever expectations the listener ║ │ │║ may have had increase considerably and the album never lets ║ │ │║ up until the final chords of ôTimeless Cell of Prophecyö ║ │ │║ roll around. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ If this otherwise brilliant effort has one minor flaw, it ║ │ │║ is that the best three songs all come at the beginning and ║ │ │║ the remaining tracks, with the exception of the more mellow ║ │ │║ ôPrisoners of Fateö and the hard-rocking ôKill the Kingö, ║ │ │║ arenÆt quite as memorable, taking a more progressive and ║ │ │║ technical approach instead. While this is not a bad thing ║ │ │║ at all, the album still could have benefited from a ║ │ │║ different track order, as intricate songs like ôFear of the ║ │ │║ Unknownö, ôMorbid Curiosityö, ôMercy Is No Virtueö and the ║ │ │║ closing ôTimeless Cell of Prophecyö, excellent though they ║ │ │║ may be, are all stacked on the second half of this more ║ │ │║ than one-hour long album and therefore can get a little ║ │ │║ overbearing at times. Perhaps putting the instantly ║ │ │║ accessible cover of RainbowÆs ôKill the Kingö in place of ║ │ │║ the somewhat pointless instrumental ôGuitarmonyö would have ║ │ │║ been a smart move in that regard. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ultimately, however, ôVictims of Deceptionö is an album of ║ │ │║ astounding quality and consistency, recorded by musicians ║ │ │║ of remarkable technical prowess. ItÆs safe to say that a ║ │ │║ band like Metallica û as the most successful band to emerge ║ │ │║ from the Bay Area scene, they are the perfect measuring ║ │ │║ stick û doesnÆt hold a candle to Heathen in that category, ║ │ │║ as the drums, guitars and even the vocals are sometimes ║ │ │║ light-years ahead of what the likes of Ulrich, Hammett and ║ │ │║ Hetfield have ever been capable of. That in turn allows the ║ │ │║ band to infuse more melody and progressive elements into ║ │ │║ the music whilst retaining plenty of speed and ║ │ │║ aggressiveness. Particularly the riffing on tracks like ║ │ │║ ôFear of the Unknownö and ôHypnotizedö is positively ║ │ │║ spectacular. Moreover, the stellar production brings out ║ │ │║ the best in the bandÆs performance, giving the guitars a ║ │ │║ massive sound without stifling the other instruments and ║ │ │║ various little details in the bandÆs awe-inspiring ║ │ │║ delivery. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ In closing, ôVictims of Deceptionö is the perfect album to ║ │ │║ demonstrate that the more iconic and commercially ║ │ │║ successful bands from the Bay Area scene werenÆt ║ │ │║ necessarily the be-all and end-all in musical quality and ║ │ │║ that some of the more under-the-radar acts were actually ║ │ │║ just as good or perhaps sometimes even a little better. ║ │ │║ With an effort like this under their belt, Heathen were ║ │ │║ definitely deserving of more widespread acclaim and ║ │ │║ sustained success than they ended up with, but as we all ║ │ │║ know, life simply isnÆt always fair à ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Choicest cuts: ôHypnotizedö, ôOpiate of the Massesö, ║ │ │║ ôHeathenÆs Songö, ôFear of the Unknownö ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 1. Hypnotized 8:35 │ │ 2. Opiate Of The Masses 7:51 │ │ 3. Heathen's Song 9:26 │ │ 4. Kill The King 3:34 │ │ 5. Fear Of The Unknown 7:08 │ │ 6. Prisoners Of Fate 6:21 │ │ 7. Morbid Curiosity 6:27 │ │ 8. Guitarmony 3:31 │ │ 9. Mercy Is No Virtue 6:28 │ │ 10. Timeless Cell Of Prophecy 5:20 │ │ │ │ │ │ Total Length : 01:04:41 │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘