caption associated_acts years_active birth_place label image_size background birth_date instrument genre image article_title name occupation
altus with heathen @ hellfest 2013 heathen , exodus , die krupps , angel witch 1986 -- present odessa , ukrainian ssr combat , capitol , nuclear blast 200 non_vocal_instrumentalist 13 may 1966 guitar thrash heavy metal metal , speed metal , industrial metal , w0847-hellfest2013 heaven g2 66918.jpg lee altus
 lee altus musician , songwriter
lee altus

lee altus , born 13 may 1966 in odessa , ukrainian ssr , is an american heavy metal guitarist .
altus first came to public attention in the mid-80s with his original band , heathen , where altus displayed his virtuosic and highly technical neoclassical guitar playing style .
he is principal songwriter and founding member of heathen as well , playing on all three of their lp 's , `` breaking the silence '' , `` victims of deception '' and `` the evolution of chaos '' .
in 1990 , altus was considered for the position in megadeth vacated by jeff young , but declined due to megadeth 's potentially dangerous drug-heavy life style , and the job was given instead to marty friedman .
after heathen broke up in 1992 altus moved to germany along with his fellow ex-heathen members doug piercy and darren minter .
altus and minter played in the industrial metal group die krupps for much of the remainder of the 90s .
he also participated in a reunited version of angel witch .
returning to america around 2001 , altus reunited heathen along with minter , vocalist dave white , bassist mike jastremski and guitarist ira black .
the band put out an ep entitled `` recovered '' , made up of rare material and , with a new second guitarist and bassist , in 2010 released `` the evolution of chaos '' .
in 2005 altus replaced rick hunolt in san francisco thrash metal band exodus , with whom he still currently plays , performing on their `` shovel headed kill machine '' , `` the atrocity exhibition '' , `` let there be blood '' , '' '' and `` blood in , blood out '' albums .
altus is currently working on a new album with heathen .
lee currently endorses esp guitars , though he used to play jackson king v guitars .
altus was a long time user of mesa/boogie amplifiers as well , but is currently an engl endorsee .
