Heretic - A Time of Crisis (2012)

L.A.'s Heretic was a band cut well short of its time when the vocalist on its excellent Breaking Point album (in 1988) decided to take the bigger gig with Metal Church, replacing David Wayne. Funny enough, other Heretic members would later form Reverend with Wayne, exacting a sort of pseudo-revenge by releasing material that, at first, was superior to what the Howe Church managed to manifest. Granted, neither of the groups would ever match Breaking Point, in my opinion, so the few followers like myself were left to mourn another casualty of the 80s, one of the best US power/thrash hybrids to happen along in that mighty decade. Naturally, when I was met by news of a reunion and a new studio album through Metal on Metal Records, I was at once both excited and trepidatious: could they live up to their impressive legacy, or would they prove another victim of time lost?

I should point out that this is NOT a Heretic with Mike Howe singing or the entire Breaking Point lineup of musicians, but instead a reunion of guitarist Brian Korban with the earlier vocalist Julian Mendez who had been present for their Torture Knows No Boundaries EP (1986), which was not nearly so memorable, but decent enough power/trad metal for its time. Mendez had a pretty interesting contrast in his voice, between screeches and a grimier lower range, but the songs supporting him weren't entirely appealing, whereas the ensuing Breaking Point was a veritable riff-fest that played well to the moments of clean/acoustic atmosphere and the grating edge to Mike Howe's voice. The remainder of the lineup for this reunion is new to the band, but both bassist Angelo Espino and guitarist Glenn Rogers have a formidable history of involvements in groups as widespread as Hirax, Bitch, Vengeance Rising/Once Dead, Uncle Slam and even Reverend. So, not their first time at the dance, and their background in speed and thrash metal make them excellent choices to fill the shoes of alumni like Dennis O'Hara and Bobby Marquez.

With all of these changes, I'm satisfied to say that A Time of Crisis maintains a natural continuity with its predecessor Breaking Point, even though there are a few shifts in climate. You're still getting the simpler, well constructed songwriting and powerful riffs, only the emphasis here is a bit more on the crushing weight of the thrash elements, with an increased use of muted potency and even a few breakdown grooves that seem a better fit for how Mendez' vocals have evolved through the years. Here the guy has a much deeper overall inflection, with a lot of hoarse and strain on it, but while he might not pull out a scream as he once did, it works out well when he raises pitch to hit the chorus. Certainly the guy's voice is leaden, and carries well within the span of the riffing architecture, yet it does take a little use to getting used to unless you're a huge fan of the harsher power metal singers like Chris Boltendahl of Grave Digger, in which case you'll feel right at home (Mendez isn't nearly so gravelly, in fact).

Musically, there seems a parallel evolution towards what you might have heard on the latest Helstar album, or the past decade worth of Vicious Rumors releases. Traditional 80s metal influences like Judas Priest have their skeletons festooned with fat and muscle, and the beefy and heavy distorted guitar tone used by Korban and Rogers is applied with effective crunch. The songs possess a fair amount of variation, from the more upbeat power/thrash of "Tomorrow's Plague" or the soaring "Child of War" to the mid paced mosh brutes like "For Your Faith" and "Betrayed". The guitar progressions aren't all that fresh or innovative, but they're cleaved efficiently by the lead sequences and they mix up the central patterns with enough thrust and bombast that I was oft reminded me of Testament's airy underrated record The Ritual, which also strode the threshold between metallic sub-genres. Add to this a snap performance from the new drummer Iggy Coppola and you've got a well rounded comeback record that doesn't really disappoint.

A Time of Crisis is not without its flaws. I, for one, didn't care for the new version of the band's eponymous "Heretic", vastly preferring the Mike Howe version. The riffs are effective, but not the stickiest in terms of wanting to listen through them until your ears fall off. Also, as I mentioned, Mendez has a pretty unique voice that wasn't the easiest to adapt to up front. After a number of spins, though, I was happy that band managed a mild reinvention of their 80s sound without sounding trendy or trite, or resting too much on the laurels of their past. Fans of Vicious Rumors, Reverend, late 80s Metal Church and the newer albums by Meliah Rage will probably dig this, and even if it's not perfect, it's far from a disgrace to the Heretic brand.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.hereticusa.com/

Heretic - Torture Knows No Boundary EP (1986)

Heretic is another of those painfully overlooked 80s acts who managed to produce an unsung classic in their sole full-length Breaking Point, an album I still listen to today with regular frequency. That would be the work that ultimately sold the band's then front man Mike Howe to replace David Wayne in Metal Church, who would ironically go on to front Reverend with the rest of the Heretic cast. But years before Howe even joined them, the Californian band already existed with a previous vocalist, one Julian Mendez, who had a weaker and shrill, but acceptable range to mix with the unit's hybrid of power and thrash metal aesthetics, and their first release through Metal Blade was an EP known as Torture Knows No Boundary.

This is 18 minutes of hard hitting, traditional power metal with a hint of early Metallica. Think mid 80s Judas Priest meets Kill 'Em All, and you're not far off the mark. Mendez is not as effective as the later Howe's deep, biting tone, instead reminding me of a median of two other Metal Blade vocalists: Lizzy Borden and Frank Tyson of the more obscure Krank. It's dirty in the lower registers, and pretty shrill at the heights, though he can't match the pitch and delivery of Lizzy himself. All this would be acceptable if he had been served a series of high quality tunes as on Breaking Point, but while the style doesn't differ, the riffs and composition of this debut were not yet fully gestated.

That's not to say Heretic didn't have a few scorchers on their hands, and I rather enjoyed "Blood Will Tell" and "Portrait of Faith". The former is a road worthy rush with some uplifting chord patterns that are fun to plug along to; the latter is hands down the best track here, with the catchiest riffs and arguably the most urgent and powerful due to the simple but effective bridge with gang vocals. "Riding With the Angels" is hardly offensive, but it has more of a straight up NWOBHM feel with Mendez whining across the predictable chord sequences. "Whitechapel" is worthwhile, with perhaps the most memorable chorus of this early material, with one of Julian's best screams and at least two good riffs, but the closing instrumental title track doesn't add much value (they'll pull off a far better instrumental on the full length called "Pale Shelter".

So what you're left with are three pretty good tracks that foreshadow the greatness to come in but a few short years, and then two that just don't pass muster, for about 10-11 minutes of overall value. As a bonus to a reissue of Breaking Point, they'd function fairly well, but I'm not aware of such a compilation, so you're better off just to skip this and head straight for the full-length if you're new to the band. Torture Knows No Boundary is merely a footnote to a legacy that should be remembered for something far better, assuming that fresh fans beyond the core few in the know ever wake up and discover Heretic for themselves.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10] (the time is right)

Heretic - Breaking Point (1988)

Breaking Point may have been the sole full-length from California's Heretic, but it was a kick ass album without a single filler track. It was released in 1988, the greatest year in metal, and thus buried under a whole ton of masterpiece efforts, but I was quite disappointed to find that the band would split after this, with Mike Howe going on to front Metal Church and the rest of the band, in an ironic twist, joining David Wayne (of Metal Church) to form Reverend.

All of the songs here on Breaking Point are good, and the album has not lost much shine over two decades past its release date. An extremely well balanced blend of speed and harder edged thrash metal, every guitar riff creates a violent impulse to mosh up the nearest human being in the face. Howe's vocals were dirty and powerful, and despite their central presence to the mix of the album, they never grate on your nerves like a Mustaine might. When the band does acoustics, they are timeless and memorable, like the band's namesake "Heretic" or the amazing "Pale Shelter". When it comes to thrashing, they could run neck in neck with almost all of their contemparies in the Bay Area, but Heretic also had an old school heavy metal influence which imparted a great deal of melody to their compositions.

Oh No!
That Feelings Coming On
Don't Turn Your Back
On The Heretic

I've seen a lot of comparison to Metal Church, but really that stems more from the bands' shared membership of Howe and probably the production of the album. Breaking Point is superior to the Torture Knows No Boundaries EP (with Julian Mendez on vocals). It is truly another of the many timeless wonders of 1988 which maintains its luster and nostalgic value after so many years, and it belongs in the collection of any metalhead of taste.

Highlights: Umm...all of them? Okay, The Circle, Pale Shelter, Evil for Evil, And Kingdoms Fall

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]