[Interview conducted July 2010]

When it comes to the Bay Area thrash scene in the 1980s, Heathen may not have had the high profile that bands like Exodus and Testament enjoyed, but they still managed to release two of the most powerful and technically brilliant albums of the era. My first encounter with the band was the classic track “Goblin’s Blade” and once that trademark riff kicks in, Heathen had a special place in my heart forever. With their reunion at Thrash of the Titans in 2001 and the recently unleashed The Evolution of Chaos, they were back in classic form, with David White’s unique vocals as piercing as ever and Lee Altus still the master of the fretboard. Daivd took a few moments not long ago to answer some questions to bring the Heathen story up to date…

The new album is quite impressive in all aspects: songs, performances, production, and artwork. Were you pretty happy with how it came out and did it evolve much over the course of putting it together?
We’re very happy with the way that the album came out. We worked on it for over a year making sure it was exactly the way we wanted it to be. I think the band’s sound has evolved over time naturally but we basically picked up where we left off with “Victims of Deception.”

It has been several years since Recovered. Why the long wait for Evolution of Chaos to finally emerge?
Well, we did a demo of some new songs in 2005 and then toured Europe with Nuclear Assault. Following that, it took a while to get the recording deal finalized and then solidify the lineup. We didn’t want to rush anything out and took our time with writing and recording everything as well.

How has the songwriting dynamic changed in the band from the early days?
Lee still writes the majority of the music and I write almost all of the lyrics. Kragen also contributed 3 songs and a set of lyrics to the new album and Jon contributed 1 song. In general, we all know what Heathen should sound like and really try hard to make sure that the music is killer so nothing’s really changed in that regard.

How much work goes into creating the vocal melody lines and do those tend to come before the lyrics or after?
The riffs and overall song usually come first, then the vocal melodies and then the lyrics.

I wanted to ask about the inspiration for a couple of the lyrics on the album, starting with “Red Tears of Disgrace.”
“Red Tears” is really about how humans are destroying the earth with pollution, over-consumption and landfills. It’s really a caution to people to think about the environment and to do everything that we can to save it.

Another one that stands out is “A Hero’s Welcome.” Can you say a bit about how that came together and what inspired it?
Lee really wanted to have a song dedicated to the troops and this song sounded like the perfect one for that concept. This song is really an ode to all soldiers from countries around the world that are fighting in wars past and present to show appreciation for their sacrifice.

You did some great covers on the first two albums (and obviously on Recovered), but none on the new one. Was that a conscious decision, to have this one be 100% Heathen material?
Yes. We had 1 cover on each of the first 2 albums and then put out a CD with a bunch of covers. We really wanted to focus on our own original material this time and had a ton of great material to work with.

The artwork for Evolution of Chaos is killer. Can you tell me a bit about how the concept came together and how you hooked up with Travis Smith?
Travis is actually a friend of Kragen’s and has done all of the artwork for his band Prototype’s CDs. Kragen contacted him, gave him the song titles and lyrics and the overall theme of the album sort of came together. We’re all really happy with the way that it came out.

Has Evolution of Chaos been released on vinyl or will it be?
Yes, “The Evolution of Chaos” was released on vinyl in Europe and is available online through the Mascot Records website and some online retailers.

Going back a little, what happened in the wake of Victims of Deception that caused Heathen to break up? That was such a great record, it should have been huge!
It was a killer album and we were all more than pleased with it. Roadrunner loved it as well but had a hard time promoting it as Grunge became more and more popular. I think we could have kept things rolling if we had done more touring for the album but who knows.

Now that everyone is older and has families and whatnot, how difficult is it to get together to write, rehearse, record and tour?
It can be difficult to schedule things. We all have families and live in different areas of California. We manage to find a way to make it work though even if things move a little more slowly than we’d like sometimes.

It seems like the Thrash of the Titans show back in 2001 was the impetus that really revitalized the Bay Area thrash scene and got several of the bands back in action. Was that a big part of why Heathen is here today or do you think you would have come back together anyway?
That’s really what kick-started the band’s reunion. We got such a great response from Thrash of the Titans and then got the offer to play Wacken. That’s the moment when we really started to think about doing this again.

The past few years have seen an explosion of new bands coming out that play in the style of classic thrash metal. What is your take on this movement and have you heard any bands that really stood out as being exceptionally good to you?
I think it’s great that there’s a resurgence of thrash metal music. We’re definitely thankful that it has kind of synched up with our return to the scene. At this point a lot of the younger bands are really starting to find their own direction and sound. It will be really interesting to hear some of the bands in a couple of years as they evolve.

In this age of declining music sales, does Heathen survive more from touring and merchandise sales or has that really changed much for you guys?
When we go on tour we definitely survive based on money made at shows, mostly from merchandise. I think we’re in the same boat as most bands at this level where we don’t really see anything from the record companies and the album sales.

I think Heathen is the only one of the original big Bay Area thrash bands that I never got to see live. Do you have any tour plans that might bring you through Washington or Oregon this year?
We’re working to try and get a US tour together right now. It’s hard to make a US tour work financially without some support from the labels these days. With some luck we’ll be up in Washington or Oregon later this year.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, it is much appreciated!
Thank to you for the great interview and for your support of Heathen!

http://www.myspace.com/heathenmetal