# List of Heathen band members

Heathen is an American thrash metal band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1984, the group originally consisted of lead vocalist Sam Kress, guitarists Lee Altus and Jim Sanguinetti, and drummer Carl Sacco. After the band's first live performance, Kress and Sanguinetti were replaced by David White (then known as David Godfrey) and Doug Piercy, respectively, while Eric Wong was brought in as their first bassist. The group's current lineup features Altus, the sole constant member, alongside White (who rejoined in 1989 after leaving in 1988), guitarist Kragen Lum (since 2007), bassist Jason Mirza (since 2019) and drummer Jim DeMaria (since 2020).

## History
### 1984–1993

Heathen was formed in 1984 by Lee Altus and Carl Sacco, who brought in Sam Kress and Jim Sanguinetti to complete the original lineup. After the band's first show, Kress and Sanguinetti were replaced by David White (then David Godfrey) and Doug Piercy, respectively, while Eric Wong was added as the group's first bassist. After the release of the band's first demo Pray for Death in 1986, Wong was replaced by Mike "Yaz" Jastremski. With the new bassist, Heathen released its full-length debut album Breaking the Silence on Combat Records in 1987. After the album's promotional touring cycle, Sacco left Heathen and was replaced by Darren Minter. During late 1988, Godfrey was replaced by former Exodus frontman Paul Baloff, who recorded a demo with the band.
After the recording of the demo with Baloff, Jastremski was replaced by Manny Bravo. Baloff left at the beginning of 1989. He was replaced briefly by David Wayne (formerly of Metal Church), followed by Rick Weaver, before Godfrey (now using the name David White) returned in time for the recording of demo Opiate of the Masses in March. The demo also featured new bassist Vern McElroy of Blind Illusion; in 1990, the band recorded Victims of Deception with session stand-in Marc Biedermann, before Randy Laire took over. During his first tour, Laire died in a car accident in September 1991. He was replaced by Jason VieBrooks.
In 1992, Piercy was replaced by Ira Black. The group began work on a planned third album, but broke up the following year. Altus and Minter later joined industrial metal band Die Krupps, White joined Defiance, and VieBrooks co-founded groove metal supergroup Grip Inc.

### 2001–2019

Heathen reformed in August 2001, with returning members White, Altus, Black and Minter joined by former bassist Mike Jastremski. In June 2004, after the release of Recovered, Jastremski was replaced by Jon Torres. Not long after, Black also left the band, with former Mercenary guitarist Sven Soderlund temporarily taking his place. The remaining four members recorded a demo in early 2005, before announcing the addition of Terry Lauderdale on guitar that June.
Shortly after starting work on a planned third album, Heathen announced in December 2007 that Lauderdale and Minter had left the group, replaced by Prototype guitarist Kragen Lum and former Vio-lence drummer Mark Hernandez, respectively. Less than a year later, Minter had returned to the lineup. The long-awaited third album, The Evolution of Chaos, was recorded with the new lineup and first released in December 2009. During the subsequent touring cycle, Jason VieBrooks returned starting in January 2011 to replace Torres, who temporarily left to "focus on his health". Torres later died on September 2, 2013, and VieBrooks remained a member of the band.
In the spring of 2011, Minter was temporarily replaced by Jon Dette in the spring due to "previous work commitments" which prevented him from touring. Two years later, Minter left permanently and Dette stepped in again for tour dates in the summer of 2013. After more than a year of inactivity, in January 2015 the band played with former Forbidden drummer Sasha Horn.

### Since 2019

After another extended period of inactivity, Heathen announced in June 2019 that it had begun work on a new album. When the result, Empire of the Blind, was announced the following year, it was also revealed that the lineup featured new bassist Jason Mirza and drummer Jim DeMaria.

## Members
### Current

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| Lee Altus | 1984–19932001–present | guitars | all Heathen releases |
| David White (formerly David Godfrey) | 1985–19881989–19932001–present | lead vocals | all Heathen releases excluding the untitled 1988 demo |
| Kragen Lum | 2007–present | guitarsbacking vocals | all Heathen releases from The Evolution of Chaos (2009) onwards |
| Jason Mirza | 2019–present | bass | Empire of the Blind (2020) |
| Jim DeMaria | 2019–present | drums | Empire of the Blind (2020) |

### Former

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| Carl Sacco | 1984–1988 | drums | Pray for Death (1986)Breaking the Silence (1987) |
| Sam Kress | 1984–1985 (died 2006) | lead vocals | none |
| Jim Sanguinetti | 1984–1985 | guitars | none |
| Doug Piercy | 1985–1992 | guitars | all Heathen releases from Pray for Death (1986) to Victims of Deception (1991)Empire of the Blind (2020) – one track only |
| Eric Wong | 1985–1986 | bass | Pray for Death (1986) |
| Mike "Yaz" Jastremski | 1986–19882001–2004 (died 2005) | bass | Breaking the Silence (1987)untitled 1988 demoRecovered (2004) |
| Darren Minter | 1988–19932001–20072008–2013 | drumsbacking vocals | all Heathen releases from the untitled 1988 demo to "Goblin's Blade" (live in Aarau 2010) (2018) |
| Paul Baloff | 1988–1989 (died 2002) | lead vocals | untitled 1988 demo |
| Manny Bravo | 1988–1989 | bass | none |
| David Wayne | 1989 (died 2005) | lead vocals | none |
| Rick Weaver | 1989 | lead vocals | none |
| Vern McElroy | 1989–1990 | bass | Opiate of the Masses (1989) |
| Randy Laire | 1991 (until his death) | bass | none |
| Jason VieBrooks | 1991–19932011–2019 | bass | "Hypnotized" (live in Berlin 2011) (2018)"Control by Chaos" (live at the Dynamo 2013) (2020) |
| Ira Black | 1992–19932001–2004 | guitars | Recovered (2004) |
| Jon Torres | 2004–2011 (died 2013) | bassbacking vocals | untitled 2005 demoThe Evolution of Chaos (2009)"Goblin's Blade" (live in Aarau 2010) (2018) |
| Terry Lauderdale | 2005–2007 | guitarsbacking vocals | The Evolution of Chaos (2009) – two tracks only |
| Mark Hernandez | 2007–2008 | drums | none |

### Backup

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Details |
| Marc Biedermann | 1990–1991 (session) | bass | Biedermann joined on a session basis to record Heathen's 1991 release Victims of Deception. |
| Sven Soderlund | 2004 (touring) | guitars | After Ira Black left Heathen, Soderlund temporarily stepped in as the band's touring guitarist. |
| Jon Dette | 20112013 (both touring) | drums | Dette filled in for Darren Minter in the spring of 2011, and again later when he left in 2013. |
| Sasha Horn | 2015 (touring) | drums | Horn performed drums with Heathen for the 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise in January 2015. |
| Kyle Edissi | 2022 - present (touring) | guitars | Kyle replaced Lee Altus who stayed home due to family circumstances. |

## Lineups

| Period | Members | Releases |
| 1984–1985 | Lee Altus – guitars Carl Sacco – drums Sam Kress – vocals Jim Sanguinetti – guitars | none |
| 1985–1986 | Lee Altus – guitars Carl Sacco – drums David White – vocals Doug Piercy – guitars Eric Wong – bass | Pray for Death demo (1986) |
| 1986–1988 | Lee Altus – guitars Carl Sacco – drums David White – vocals Doug Piercy – guitars Mike Jastremski – bass | Breaking the Silence (1987) |
| 1988 | Lee Altus – guitars David White – vocals Doug Piercy – guitars Mike Jastremski – bass Darren Minter – drums | none |
| Fall – late 1988 | Lee Altus – guitars Doug Piercy – guitars Mike Jastremski – bass Darren Minter – drums Paul Baloff – vocals | untitled 1988 demo |
| Late 1988 – January 1989 | Lee Altus – guitars Doug Piercy – guitars Darren Minter – drums Paul Baloff – vocals Manny Bravo – bass | none |
| Early 1989 | Lee Altus – guitars Doug Piercy – guitars Darren Minter – drums Manny Bravo – bass David Wayne – vocals | none |
| Early 1989 | Lee Altus – guitars Doug Piercy – guitars Darren Minter – drums Manny Bravo – bass Rick Weaver – vocals | none |
| 1989–1990 | Lee Altus – guitars Doug Piercy – guitars Darren Minter – drums David White – vocals Vern McElroy – bass | Opiate of the Masses demo (1989) |
| 1990–1991 | Lee Altus – guitars Doug Piercy – guitars Darren Minter – drums David White – vocals Marc Biedermann – bass (session) | Victims of Deception (1991) |
| Spring – September 1991 | Lee Altus – guitars Doug Piercy – guitars Darren Minter – drums David White – vocals Randy Laire – bass | none |
| 1991–1992 | Lee Altus – guitars Doug Piercy – guitars Darren Minter – drums David White – vocals Jason VieBrooks – bass | none |
| 1992–1993 | Lee Altus – guitars Darren Minter – drums David White – vocals Jason VieBrooks – bass Ira Black – guitars | none |
| Band inactive 1993–2001 |||
| August 2001 – June 2004 | Lee Altus – guitars Darren Minter – drums David White – vocals Ira Black – guitars Mike Jastremski – bass | Recovered (2004) |
| June – July 2004 | Lee Altus – guitars Darren Minter – drums, backing vocals David White – lead vocals Ira Black – guitars Jon Torres – bass, backing vocals | none |
| July – December 2004 | Lee Altus – guitars Darren Minter – drums, backing vocals David White – lead vocals Jon Torres – bass, backing vocals Sven Soderlund – guitars (session) | none |
| December 2004 – June 2005 | Lee Altus – guitars Darren Minter – drums, backing vocals David White – lead vocals Jon Torres – bass, backing vocals | untitled 2005 demo |
| June 2005 – December 2007 | Lee Altus – guitars Darren Minter – drums, backing vocals David White – lead vocals Jon Torres – bass, backing vocals Terry Lauderdale – guitars, backing vocals | none |
| December 2007 – June 2008 | Lee Altus – guitars David White – lead vocals Jon Torres – bass, backing vocals Kragen Lum – guitars, backing vocals Mark Hernandez – drums | none |
| June 2008 – January 2011 | Lee Altus – guitars David White – lead vocals Jon Torres – bass, backing vocals Kragen Lum – guitars, backing vocals Darren Minter – drums, backing vocals | The Evolution of Chaos (2009) "Goblin's Blade" (live) (2018) |
| January 2011 – May 2013 | Lee Altus – guitars David White – lead vocals Kragen Lum – guitars, backing vocals Darren Minter – drums, backing vocals Jason VieBrooks – bass (touring) | "Hypnotized" (live) (2017) |
| April – May 2011 May – October 2013 (temporary touring lineups) | Lee Altus – guitars David White – lead vocals Kragen Lum – guitars, backing vocals Jason VieBrooks – bass (touring) Jon Dette – drums (touring) | "Control by Chaos" (live) (2020) |
| January 2015 (temporary touring lineup) | Lee Altus – guitars David White – lead vocals Kragen Lum – guitars, backing vocals Jason VieBrooks – bass Sasha Horn – drums (touring) | none |
| June 2019 – present | Lee Altus – guitars David White – lead vocals Kragen Lum – guitars, backing vocals Jason Mirza – bass Jim DeMaria – drums | Empire of the Blind (2020) |