HEATHEN

>> BRUTALITY FOR A NEW ERA

HEATHEN

PHOTO BY MADOKA MOTOSHIMA EMBURY INTERVIEW WITH SINGER KEVIN SHARP BY MICK R.

Kevin Sharp is working outside, building a deck with his construction company somewhere in Georgia. When asked what the weather is like where he is, his singular response says it all: “Inferno.” “I must have hit my head this year, man,” Sharp continues. “Usually, I book a bunch of indoor work during the summer. It’s a million degrees by 4 p.m., and the sun just kills me. I work all the time. I built shit, or tour, or manage bands. I'm like everyone else, just scrambling to pay the bills.” former band, Brutal Truth are a household music to its limits in terms of amelodicism, Venomous Concept were never meant to be as groundbreaking sonically, but do in fact manage does pull its weight, both in terms of aggression and brutal honesty. And VenomHeathen had to overcome some logistical issues to get Empire Of The Blind made. Their members are spread out across the country, in California, New York, Arkansas, and Florida. To further complicate things, founding guitarist and sole original member Lee Altus is also a full-time member of Exodus.

“It was certainly a different process than previous records,” Lum explains. “We did several things to sort of help the process. One of them was to kind of go in groups. I was actually the only one present for all of the recording. It was good, though, because in a way, we got to do little bits of collaborative stuff. Lee came up with some great ideas for adding to the songs that really took them INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST KRAGEN LUM BY TOM CRANDLE to a different level.”

Over the course of their long career, benefit show for Chuck Billy, who was “This is the fourth Heathen album, so it's Heathen have sometimes struggled suffering from cancer at the time (Death obviously going to be an evolution of the with their timing. Hopefully, that will all Angel reformed for the same cause). They sound,” he says. “Each one of the records change with the release of their fourth al- have been cranking out their signature has been very different from the other bum, Empire Of The Blind. The 12-track effort brand of thrash ever since. ones, but I don't think that's a bad thing. was released on September 18 via Nuclear This record, we're certainly taking some Blast Records. Now, Heathen find themselves releasing chances. We're doing things that the band Empire Of The Blind during a worldwide has touched on before, but we're pushing Heathen formed in the Bay Area in 1984 pandemic. Still, guitarist Kragen Lum thinks them to the extreme. The fast stuff is faster. and were a big part of the legendary thrash the timing is right. The melodic stuff is more melodic. The scene that also included bands like Death heavy stuff is heavier.” Angel, Exodus, Forbidden, and Testament. “Unfortunately, a lot of bands that recorded Their debut album, Breaking The Silence, was and even finished their albums at the same Lum has a logical explanation for why so a minor hit in 1987. Lineup changes delayed time as the Heathen record have decided many thrash records have aged so well. their follow-up, Victims Of Deception, until to hold them and are not releasing them," 1991. By then, grunge was sweeping the he says. “They're authentic. You can listen to them nation and momentum was lost. and know that they’re 100 percent behind “We'll see if that tactic works or if our tactic what they're playing and singing about,” he In 1993, after numerous setbacks and works,” Lum continues. “We wanted to re- says. “They had that depth that we tried to countless personnel changes, Heathen lease the record when people were stuck capture on the Heathen records. They've called it quits. They reunited in 2001 for at home and needed entertainment. We got layers of extra parts and things that the now-legendary Thrash of the Titans thought maybe that would be a good way make you feel something.” ��

VENOMOUS CONCEPT

ous Concept are nothing if not honest with you, a policy to which their latest album, Politics Versus the Erection, released through Season of Mist earlier this year, is no exception. Wild, relentless, and aggrieved, the sound and views that pour out of the album are as poisonous to the status quo as an ounce of strychnine in a lime martini. “I wrote a song years ago called ‘Kill All Politicians,’ and my opinions have not changed,” Sharp states firmly when asked him about his political views, in the run up to this year’s presidential election. “Vote them all out! They've proven themselves to just be brands The cover of Politics Versus the Erection shows Donald Trump’s face perversely melding with that of Alfred E. Neuman of Mad magazine fame, like an apple pie that’s fallen

UNDERRATED THRASH BY TOM CRANDLE

Even casual headbangers know about the “Big Four” of thrash: Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer. More serious metalheads know all about the next four biggest thrash bands too: Death Angel, Exodus, Overkill, and Testament.

But what about the legion of other bands that have been toiling away since the ’80s and never quite had that commercial breakthrough? Here are three underrated, classic thrash bands who have recently released new albums that deserve your attention..

Flotsam and Jetsam - The End of Chaos (2019)

Flotsam and Jetsam formed in Phoenix, Arizona way back in 1981 and have been active for nearly 40 years. Unfortunately, they’re best known for being the band that Jason Newsted left to join Metallica (see also Kirk Hammett and Exodus). They deserve much better based on their own merit. In 2019, they released their 13th studio album. The End of Chaos finds the band continuing to pound out their razor-sharp Iron-Maidenmeets-Overkill magic.

Psychosomatic - The Invisible Prison (2020)

Psychosomatic are part of thrash’s second wave, having formed in Los Angeles in 1988. They’re also not afraid to break out of the traditional thrash mold by incorporating elements of punk and even death metal. Their seventh full length, The Invisible Prison, should elevate their status among metalheads. The cool thing about Psychosomatic is, they should appeal to old-school thrash fans as well the younger Municipal Waste/ Toxic Holocaust/speed metal punx crowd.

Sacred Reich - Awakening (2019)

Sacred Reich formed in 1985 and also call Phoenix, Arizona home. They ended 23 years of studio silence with the excellent Awakening and have spent a ton of time on the road promoting the album. Even 35 years into their career, they seem as inspired as ever. Sacred Reich are one of the more political thrash bands out there, and their lyrics are often as barbed as their riffs. Sacred Reich are for headbangers who enjoy intelligent debate as much as heaviness.

on a slab of ham. However, Sharp explains that the commentary made by the image doesn’t mean to be partisan, or supportive of other politicians.

“It’s the devil and the ding-dong,” he says. “The two faces of a one-sided coin, overlapping.

inspiring their name. He is joined in the band that sit on top of the respective parties. They by Danny Herrera on drums, Dan Lilker on spend ten minutes out of their day thinking bass, John Cooke on guitar, and Shane Em- about policy and the rest of it marketing to bury, also of Napalm Death, on guitar. Sharp’s their next campaign.” name in the world of extreme music, as one of Regardless of whoever is in charge, the mathe pioneering acts in the nascent grindcore chinery of greed and graft that undergirds scene of the late ’80s and early ’90s. Pushing the system doesn’t change, Sharp says. speed, and unvarnished truth, Brutal Truth “Look at the campaigning going on right now,” cemented their place in the pantheon of Sharp says. “You're campaigning during gruesome, god-eating heavy metal with their a pandemic and their idea of marketing genre-defining debut, Extreme Conditions is: ‘Well, the other guy is more evil than me!’ Demand Extreme Responses. That's not really a good sales point.”

Red or blue clown shows. Take your pick.” In times such as these, Sharp has a particular axe to grind with social media.

“It trains people to hate each other,” he exclaims. “I think most people would agree with this statement to one degree or another. For my part, I've certainly experienced my fair share of vitriol online.”

Sharp points out that the conversations taking place on social media platforms today are an order of magnitude worse than the ‘scene feuds’ back in his day.

“[It] is pure fucking hatred,” he explains. “The purest form of anger. It's weird.”

On whether Americans have a right to be angry at someone and who they should direct their anger towards, Sharp makes his point clear.

>> EXPANSIVE EXPRESSIONS

HALEY BLAIS

writer Haley Blais. Her gorgeous, dreamBY CALEB R. NEWTON cally captured a striking expression of intensity that are strewn across album lated naturally into the recording and there is, like, this twinge of nostalgia,” Pretzer, who handle guitar and drums, down to a whisper before bursting forth non-musical terms, how I want some“I’m such fans of them,” says Blais. “When they came on board, it was like a dream come true. They’re such a great team, and I felt like they were taking me under their wing.”

On the impact of Tennis on her album, Blais says: “They have such great ideas, and Pat [Riley] is a producing genius. They took songs that were really slow ballads and turned them into more pop or upbeat kind of cruising songs, especially ‘Too Good,’ which was originally an organ ballad only that was 30 seconds long, and it was just this idea I had and they really expanded on it. Now, it’s this kind of synth-

PHOTO BY LINDSAY ELLIOTT

INTERVIEW BY DOUGLAS MENAGH “All the music I have written up to now,

Below the Salt is the debut album says Blais. “I think this album kind of from Vancouver-based singer/song- caps that off.” pop song.”

pop album is lush and lovely with elements Below the Salt features production from of bedroom pop and hints of nostalgia. the band Tennis.

SPRAIN

Some of the songs on Below the Salt are collaborative endeavors between Blais and Tennis.

“We had Tennis in on a couple of songs,” she says. “I liked having Alaina [Moore] in the booth with me sometimes. You can hear [her] doing really high, kind of vampy vocal moments in "Be Your Own Muse" at the end. She just hopped in and started singing, and I didn’t stop her.”

On the album’s influences, Blais was inwe'll work on it until it until the sound paints that picture in my head.” Sprain, like many other groups, had touring plans thwarted by COVID-19. “You can't really put out a record without it, in some way, affecting your life,” Kent observes. “I think it has been a grounding experience. Some of the songs were really difficult to record and play, so when I listen back to them, despite the innumerable flaws I detect in the performances, there is a sense of acspired by Carole King and Kate Bush.

“We channeled Carole King a lot in the studio with Tennis,” Blais says. “We had a mantra that was just like, ‘Carole King, bitch. What would Carole do?’ She’s a huge inspiration for me as a songwriter, and that whole era of ’70s singer/songwriters that are women. I’ve grown up listening to her music, so using her as inspiration for a lot of these tracks was kind of inevitable for me. Kate Bush. A lot of drum percussion [was] Kate Bush inspiration.”

As far as promoting the album, Blais says: “Normally, we’d be revving up to go on tour, or have already been on tour to help promote it, but I’m kind of excited to let it live and not do too much in terms of promotion. Just kind of let it go, and people can listen to it and enjoy it. Now, it’s finally out of my hands because it feels like I’ve been sitting on this album for years. To me, it’s been out for two years because it’s been in my head as this whole for so long, and now I’m like, ‘When’s the next one coming out?’ I’m ready to start moving on.”

“I’m excited to just become a hermit and write music for the next little while,” she

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST ALEX KENT

On their new album As Lost thing that differentiated heavily from Through Collision, available [2018’s Sprain EP], which was constantly September 4 via The Flenser, Los and annoyingly—and fairly—compared Angeles-area group Sprain have musi- to the artists it was inspired by.” deeply set malaise and, crucially, the Besides Kent, Sprain includes fellow churning tumult that may accompany co-founder April Gerloff, who plays that state of being. bass, along with Alex Simmons and Max Some of the band’s foundation is in respectively. Kent explains that while the slowcore vibe, with drawn-out riffs, writing their new album, the creators pensive vocals, and songs that overall “just wanted to be emotionally intense. deliver a feeling of contemplative If things were going to be sad, they had melancholy. But Sprain also feature to be crushing. If they were going to be elements like segments of blistering angry, they had to be furious.” opener “Slant,” pre-release single That effort shines through—among “Worship House,” and elsewhere. other examples, “My Way Out” slows “I think that we were just straining our with a geyser of sound. Thanks to the actual anxiety and uncertainty into the consistently churning dynamics and music,” the band’s vocalist and guitarist precise musicianship threading the Alex Kent explains. “All the songs were songs together, the album’s particular kind of written in less-than-comfortable emotional grounding definitely weighs scenarios, so I suppose that it just trans- heavily on the listening experience. performance processes. “Sometimes I will just describe, in “The most primary, common thread that thing to sound, and we will all interpret stitched this particular batch of songs the description until it resembles what I together was the notion that every hear in my head,” Kent shares. “I'll say piece of music had to support the kind ridiculous things like ‘I want it to sound of artistic framework we were trying to like your car just broke down in the achieve. We wanted to create some- middle of a blizzard in rural Idaho,’ and

says. �� complishment. I know for a fact we were all really excited to tour this record, and because that's not happening anytime soon, the music has to stand on its own. The compositions have to stand on their own. That's kind of a scary thing.”

Still, the band in forging ahead.

“Hopefully, we will be able to constantly evolve as a project and continue to release music that we feel deserves to be listened to,” Kent shares. “That is the goal.” ��