Heathen (band)

Heathen
Heathen performing at Hellfest 2013
Background information
Origin	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genres	Thrash metal
Years active	1984–1993 2001–present
Labels	Combat Roadrunner Mascot Nuclear Blast
Members	Lee Altus Dave White Kragen Lum Jason Mirza Jim DeMaria
Past members	Doug Piercy Mike "Yaz" Jastremski Rick Weaver Carl Sacco Marc Biedermann Jon Torres Jason VieBrooks Ira Black Terry Lauderdale Sam Kress Darren Minter Jon Dette

Heathen is an American thrash metal band originating from the San Francisco Bay Area, active from 1984 to 1993 and again from 2001 onwards. Despite never achieving commercial success, the band is often credited – alongside Exodus, Testament, Forbidden, Death Angel and Vio-lence – as one of the leaders of the Bay Area thrash metal scene of the mid-to-late 1980s,^[1][2][3] and they have gone through several lineup changes, leaving guitarist Lee Altus as the only constant member. To date, Heathen has released four studio albums: Breaking the Silence (1987), Victims of Deception (1991), The Evolution of Chaos (2009) and Empire of the Blind (2020).^[4]