Review by Death8699 on June 23, 2019.

This Polish death metal band was founded in 1986, then broke up in 1994. They reunited in 2006 and put together a new onslaught of a release entitled Death Then Nothing. The current members feature Slawomir Maryniewski on vocals, Krzysztof Maryniewski on guitar, Rafał "Ra.V" Karwowski on guitar, Tomasz Solnica on bass and Adam Sierzega on drums.

The music features guitars that are heavily distorted and brutal sounding. Tremolo picked riffs with fast tempos mixed together with some slower parts and the use of synthesizers to augment the eerie music in a few instances. This band spews forth classic death metal with catchy tracks such as the title track and "Blanket of Silence." There aren't that many leads on this release, only on a couple of the songs. Musically speaking, the band displays vintage death metal. There really aren't any releases by this band to compare with except for their debut, which was released in 1993. It's good that they were able to reunite and put together a solid follow-up. 

I really enjoyed the riffs of all different variety. These guys, even though they're veterans now, still know how to concoct death metal that is well played out. The songs are really memorable and innovative. That low end guitar sound is way well displayed and is technical. No matter which song that you choose, all of them are great, with many interesting outputs. Vocal wise there isn't much variety-just low bellowing throat. The drums contain blast beats and plenty of double kick parts. Use of these techniques go well with the guitars. Every song contains at least some fast tempos; there really aren't many parts that are slower paced. 

This production is solid sounding with each instrument mixed in well together. It isn't flat or poorly integrated. You can hear everything pretty clearly. A great job done here. It makes the listener want to hear this release undoubtedly. I am quite impressed that the band managed to choose a producer that did them some extreme justice. The lyrics aren't featured on this release insert. However, it's safe to say that from the song titles, show that they don't have much else to sing about except death. This is of course a grim topic and it's a shame that they don't have their lyrical contents displayed for the public. There are no cover songs on this release. It's just over 32 minutes in length of classic Polish concocted death metal.

In summation, Death Then Nothing is a strong comeback album that contains tracks that are heavy and intriguing. Again, not much variety in the vocal department, but still they managed to fit it well into the music. If you're interested in hearing some fresh death metal with a great production sound, then this release should be owned by all death metal fans.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Felix on June 4, 2024.

It was 1991, I was still young, when Heathen released “Victims of Deception”. In keeping with the triumphal march of the CD, which had begun in the meantime, and its higher capacity, Heathen presented a full 65 minutes of music. Their debut had not blown me away, but it was a matter of course to buy this work as well. At the end of the day, the result was similar as before. “Victims of Deception” is a solid, partly good work, but cannot piss with the big boys of classic thrash. And it’s an ironic twist of fate that especially the higher capacity of the new medium became a problem.

Anyway, the first thing I realize during my rediscovery of the album is the feeble, nasal voice of David White-Godfrey. One could almost think he suffered from a bad cold in the recording studio. His vocals are the weak point of the actually strong opener “Hypnotized”. One gets used to his singing, but the closer “Timeless Cell of Prophecy” presents another very mediocre performance from him. The track holds Forbidden-compatible melody lines and he just accompanies them without setting his own accents. That would not have happened to Russ Anderson.

Unfortunately the only instrumental does not make things better. “Guitarmony” is a pretty useless intermezzo and much too long (3:32) in view of its meaninglessness. To put it on the album was a wrong decision and the same goes for the vapid cover of “Kill the King”. Already the debut had shown that Heathen were not immune against the appropriation of foreign (and outdated) songs. Their own material was more exciting, especially highlights like “Opiate of the Masses” with its Exodus-like riffing. Some other tracks almost reach a very good level, but their sheer opulence makes it difficult to dedicate them my undivided attitude. To me, thrash metal was both music and rebellion and the second part comes off badly when we speak about Heathen. Their approach was always a pretty adult and a more artistic one. That was and is okay, but I miss the fiery heat of wild thrash eruptions.

On the other hand, the material on “Victims of Deception” is free from embarrassing childishness and some strong harmonies let us know that Heathen are aware of the importance of catchy sections. This leads to songs like “Fear of the Unknown”. They do not lack substance, variety or melodies, but many parts of them are closer to some rather mediocre Metal Church tracks than to pure thrash. I do not find the smallest grain of insanity and that’s a pity. Aggravating the situation, the production sounds a bit muffled. The mix lacks pressure and does not convince with aggressiveness. It is no big deal and the technical implementation does not ruin the compositions, but it is also far away from being perfect or at least very good.

Let me ignore the ballad “Prisoners of Fate”, because its chorus tastes somewhat greasy. It makes more sense to focus on “Heathen’s Song”. With 9:27 minutes it is the longest track here and its first edition had been released under the name “Heathen” on Under One Flag’s “Speed Metal Kills II” compilation (Flag 17) in 1987. This version is three minutes shorter, compact and its guitars spread some aggressive vibes. I do not need to lose more words, you already know which configuration I prefer. “Heathen’s Song” is not bad, but worse than its older brother and at least 10% too cosy. It shows clearly that Heathen were victims of the new possibilities of the CD. So sorry, despite the great potential of the band and some fine sections and songs, “Victims of Deception” has never entered my private pantheon of thrash metal.

Rating: 6.1 out of 10