Band:	Heathen
Album:	Breaking The Silence
Style:	Bay Area thrash metal
Release date:	1987
Guest review by:	Death To Posers

01. Death By Hanging
02. Goblin's Blade
03. Open The Grave
04. Pray For Death
05. Set Me Free [Sweet cover]
06. Breaking The Silence
07. Worlds End
08. Save The Skull
09. Heathen [bonus]

Heathen is positively one of, if not the most underrated of the Bay Area Thrash bands formed in the 80's. Breaking The Silence is an excellent debut album I can recommend to both fans of the "extreme" and "melodic" sub-genres. This is definitely one of my top melodic thrash releases of all time. These guys have got some serious chops; it surprises me that they are almost never mentioned when people talk about their favorite bands. They play with a cleaner, melodic, less aggressive sound than other thrash bands of the era, but they will still have you banging your head along to the tracks all the same.

Though not as aggressive as many thrash bands of the time, the performance on this one is really nice. The vocals are also not too aggressive for a Bay Area Thrash band, but not too soft. David Godfrey sings like Bruce Dickinson at times, both have slightly drawn out opera-like vibrato, though Godfrey's is much less pronounced, Dickinson was definitely an influence. Sometimes I think he might even be singing in a British accent like in "Goblins Blade," "Breaking the Silence," and on the bonus track "Heathen." The drumming is awesome; Carl Sacco is a very precise, tight and highly skilled drummer he is definitely a standout among the drummers in the 80's bay metal bands. Lee Atlus and Doug Piercy are both very technically sound guitarists. They play the typically aggressive Bay Area Thrash riffs and infuse some melody along the way. I'm an addict for solos and this album is full of the fix I need. Check Out "Worlds End" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Their playing is definitely what takes the album to that next level for me. The production is a bit jumbled and yet again I can't hear the bass a lot of the time, but it's excellent for a late eighties release and a debut album at that.

So, all-in-all the album has a lot to offer metal fans of all tastes and preferences. The songs are very catchy with a nice rhythm to them, the playing is very technical and advanced and there is still that certain "rage channeling" and darkness you come to expect from thrash. An overlooked and underrated classic from an overlooked and underrated band.

Favorite Tracks: "Worlds End," "Open The Grave," "Pray For Death," "Save The Skull For Last"