UMUR "A Game You Cannot Win" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US thrash/power metal act Heretic. The album was released through Dissonance Productions in October 2017. It´s the successor to "A Time of Crisis" from 2012 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Glenn Rogers has been replaced by Stuart Fujinami. Heretic formed in 1985 but after releasing their debut full-length studio album "Breaking Point" in 1988 they disbanded. "A Time of Crisis (2012)" was therefore Heretic´s first album in 24 years, and "A Game You Cannot Win" is the proof that the 2012 comeback album wasn´t a lonely swan.

Stylistically the material on "A Game You Cannot Win" continues the thrash metal with US power metal style the band also played on "A Time of Crisis (2012)". The material is predominantly on the more raw and thrashy side, but there are moments where the US power metal style takes over and especially Metal Church is a valid reference. As said this is mostly a thrash metal release though. Meaty heavy riffs, faster-paced thrashy riffs, and the occasional more traditional heavy metal riff. Pounding heavy drumming and a lead vocalist delivering raw (yet semi-melodic) commanding singing.

The musicianship is on a high level on all posts and "A Game You Cannot Win" also features a powerful, raw, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well. So upon conclusion it´s a high quality release by Heretic. It´s not a revolution of the thrash/US power metal hybrid style and Heretic lack that last element of uniqueness to be counted among the greatest artists in the genre, but for fans of the genre this is definitely a worthy purchase. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Breaking Point" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Los Angeles, California based power/heavy metal act Heretic. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in August 1988. Heretic was in their original run a rather short lived act who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1988. They released the "Torture Knows No Boundary (1986)" EP and "Breaking Point" before disbanding. The material on "Breaking Point" was re-released in 1991 as part of the compilation album "The Don't Turn Your Back!! & Breaking Point". There´s been one lineup change since the release of the "Torture Knows No Boundary (1986)" EP as lead vocalist Julian Mendez has been replaced by Mike Howe. The latter would soon depart again though to become a member of the more prolific Metal Church. A departure which in part resulted in the end of Heretic.

Stylistically the music on "Breaking Point" takes the traditional heavy metal style of "Torture Knows No Boundary (1986)" and twists it in a darker and more heavy US power metal oriented direction. Julian Mendez was a skilled vocalist with a strong voice, but Mike Howe is arguably a more distinct sounding and powerful singer. He has the right raw butch bark, but can also hit the high notes when that is called for, and always with a melodic sensibility to his delivery. The rest of the band are well playing too, delivering hard edged heavy metal riffs and blistering solos, and pounding energetic mid-paced rhythms.

The production is raw, powerful, and relatively well sounding for the time. The rhythm guitars could have featured a bit more bite and a more fat tone, and the drums didn´t need all those reverb effects, but the bass, and the vocals, sound pretty good in the mix. I especially enjoy how loud and clear the bass is heard and how active it is in the music.

The material on the 10 track, 44:43 minutes long album shift between traditional heavy metal oriented tracks like "Heretic" and "Evil for Evil" and US power metal oriented tracks like "And Kingdoms Fall" and "The Circle", so to my ears "Breaking Point" isn´t a 100% US power metal album. In fact it´s often closer to traditional heavy metal than to power metal. To my ears Heretic are best when they play US power metal because they sound a bit more generic and old fashioned when they play the more traditional heavy metal parts. In addition the the power/heavy metal tracks on the "Breaking Point", the album also features the instrumental "Pale Shelter", which is placed about mid-way through the album. It´s a nice atmospheric breather featuring acoustic guitar and some keyboards. It´s quite the beautiful little piece, and could seamlessly have been worked into a ballad type track if a vocal melody had been added to it.

Upon conclusion "Breaking Point" is a quality US power/heavy metal release by Heretic and especially fans of Metal Church should take notice and check this one out. Personally I think the songwriting is a bit up and down and the production could have been slightly better sounding too, but the high level musicianship makes up for some of that and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Torture Knows No Boundary" is an EP release by US, Los Angeles, California based heavy metal act Heretic. The EP was released through Metal Blade Records in December 1986. Heretic were in their original run a rather short lived act who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1988. They released "Torture Knows No Boundary" and the "Breaking Point (1988)" debut full-length studio album before splitting up. The latter features Mike Howe on vocals. Howe would join Metal Church and shortly after Heretic disbanded. On this EP the vocals are handled by Julian Mendez though. The material on "Torture Knows No Boundary" was re-released in 1991 as part of the compilation album "The Don't Turn Your Back!! & Breaking Point".

Stylistically the material on the 5 track, 17:54 minutes long album is traditional heavy metal through and through. Heretic is mostly known as a US power/thrash metal act, but that´s not the case here, as "Torture Knows No Boundary" features a more old school yet still raw and powerful heavy metal sound. Julian Mendez is a relatively strong vocalist with a raw delivery, and the band are well playing too (although the drums occasionally sound a bit untight). Hard rocking riffs and solos and a powerful pounding rhythm section.

The EP features 5 tracks a and a full playing time of 17:54 minutes. The first four tracks are "regular" heavy metal tracks, while the closing title track is an instrumental with both clean guitars and some blazing solo work. It shows another side of Heretic and brings some variation to the EP. The sound production is raw and powerful, suiting the music well. Upon conclusion "Torture Knows No Boundary" is a promising first release by Heretic. It does sound slightly old fashioned for a 1986 release, but that doesn´t make it less enjoyable. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "A Time of Crisis" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US thrash/power metal act Heretic. The album was released through Metal on Metal Records in July 2012. Heretic was formed as far back as in 1985. They released the "Torture Knows No Boundary aka Don't Turn Your Back" EP in 1986 and their debut full-length studio album "Breaking Point" in 1988 before disbanding. Therefore "A Time of Crisis" is not only a comeback album it´s also the band´s first studio release in 24 years.

The music on the album is thrash metal with US power metal elements. The latter style is mostly heard in the semi-melodic choruses. Other than that, the riffing style, drumming and vocal style are firmly placed in thrash metal. That is, Thrash metal in the technically well played Bay Area style. Testament comes to mind, but it´s actually Artillery I´m reminded of the most.

The sound production is powerful and edgy, bringing out the best in the music. "A Time of Crisis" is bookended by two short instrumentals, but other than those two tracks, we´re more or less treated to one aggressive thrash metal tune after another. While the variation could have been better and the tracks could have prospered from being more memorable, this is still quality music through and through.

"A Time of Crisis" is the proof that Heretic have been missed and that they might still have a career ahead of them despite being "late to the game" with their sophomore album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

adg211288 A Time of Crisis is the second full-length album by US thrash metal act Heretic. The album was released in 2012. Heretic number amongst a host of bands that have been releasing albums within the last couple of years that were originally about in the eighties, only to break up after a relatively small number of releases. In Heretic’s case their original career saw them release an EP, Torture Knows No Boundary (1986) and their debut full-length, Breaking Point (1988). A Time of Crisis features an almost entirely different line-up to that prior album, with only guitarist Brian Korban performing on both releases, although A Time of Crisis does also see the return of vocalist Julian Mendez who performed on the EP.

Although Heretic are described as a power-thrash band, their music is most firmly rooted in the thrash metal genre, although I also hear plenty of slower paced elements that put me in mind of traditional heavy metal. It’s a nice mix that is about in balance with each other which resulted in a very focused release from the band. Thrash metal has never typically been my thing, although of late I’ve started to find a new appreciation for the genre with the recent releases from artists such as Teramaze and Prototype. Heretic is another band that I can add to my list of thrash bands doing something what I once would have considered unlikely to happen, making an album that that I can not only acknowledge as the work of a skilled and talented band, but also one that I can enjoy on a more personal level. An early track, Tomorrow's Plague, was all it took for me to get engrossed in the sound that Heretic has to offer.

There are twelve tracks on the album, bookended by a couple of shorter instrumental pieces that serve as an intro and outro respectively, although in this case the outro track, Let Me Begin Again, is actually a little bit longer than the band’s self-titled song, Heretic. Generally speaking though we’re talking average length and to the point thrash metal songs that clock in around the three-four minute mark, with only Remains passing five. It is a simple (by modern standards) but affective approach that allows Heretic to cram in their mix of thrash and classic metal riffs, topped off with fast lead guitar which is pretty dominate in the mix when they hit, and Julian Mendez’s raw, pure thrash style vocals. It’s not, admittedly, the most original take on thrash metal I’ve come across, but it is a damn good one all the same, with Tomorrow's Plague, A Time of Crisis and The End Of The World being counted among its best songs. A great album tier rating is deserved.

78/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))