Heathen the Reckoning Tour 2011 with headliners/German thrash kings Destruction.

April 30th, 2011 at the Boardwalk in Orangevale, CA

About Heathen

Heathen, an American thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area, formed in 1984 with guitarist Lee Altus, drummer Carl Sacco, vocalist Sam Kress, and guitarist Jim Sanguinetti. However, in 1985, both Kress and Sanguinetti left and were replaced by vocalist David White and guitarist Doug Piercy. In addition, Bassist Eric Wong joined the band around the same time. This lineup made their debut in 1986 and quickly became popular in the Bay Area. Their early music combined the aggression of thrash metal with NWOBHM-style vocals and arrangements, as well as acoustic intros or outros and fast-paced melodic shred solos.

Heathen got their big break in 1987 after releasing their Pray for Death demo and signing with Combat Records. Bassist Eric Wong left the band to join Piranha, and was replaced by former Griffin guitarist Mike “Yaz” Jastremski.

In 2019, Heathen announced on Facebook that they had begun working on a fourth studio album. Moreover, in 2020, they revealed the title and artwork of “Empire of the Blind”. They released “The Blight” as the lead single and the album was released on September 18, 2020. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Heathen toured Europe in June with Toxik, and in July and August, they supported Testament on their Titans of Creation tour.

Before releasing “Empire of the Blind,” guitarist Kragen Lum stated that Heathen may work on a fifth album in 2021. Lum stated: “Every band on the planet is going to want a tour next year. We’ll do the very best we can and promote the record. If touring proves to be a challenge, then we’ll probably start working on another record.”

About The Venue

The Boardwalk, founded by Mark Earl in 1987, was a staple in the Sacramento music scene until its closure in January 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Earl’s passing. Nine months later, Derek Clark and Sara Green, owners of Orangevale’s Palm Tree Brewing Company, bought the property and renovated the venue, including the installation of advanced sound and lighting systems.