 Heathen's Rage (Rock Dreams) 1984 1. "Knights
Of Steel" |
 Tony Lee circa 1983-84 |
Heathen's Rage were formed in Trenton, NJ in 1983 by guitarist Rob Warner. The band consisted of vocalist Bob Pizzauro, Guitarist Rob Warner and Tony Lee, bassist Larry Milhalko, and drummer Chris Teresyn. Highly influenced by the NWOBHM scene and the rising US speed metal bands, they started off as a cover band playing songs like "Queen of the Ryche," "Fast As A Shark" and "Soldiers of Metal" and soon developed into a tight speed metal unit. Back in '84 - '85 we all thought that Heathen's Rage were going to be the next big thing. They were packing the halls around town and opening for other bands who were beginning to see some success as well, like Anthrax and S.O.D. The last show I saw them at was when they opened for Anthrax at City Garden in Trenton, NJ. (Anthrax were on their "Spreading the Disease" Tour). Heathens Rage released the 3 song EP pictured above in 1984 on Rock Dreams Records . Rock Dreams was a local record store that specialized in heavy metal. (Tony's best friend worked at Rock Dreams at the time.) I think this EP was either their first or second attempt at starting their own record company. The lineup changed after the release of the record and Tony and Bob left. Tony joined a band called Drunken Angel who released one demo. After Tony and Bob left, Heathens Rage recorded a four song demo tape with a new singer before Rob Warner split the band up to form Warner. Tony Lee later formed a band in NYC called Railroad Jerks that have released several albums over the years.. Tony Lee was a close friend of mine throughout high school until I moved away to go to college in late 1985. He and I went to many concerts together back then and I never missed a Heathen's Rage show. (Caught quite a few practices down in the basement as well.) We use to hang out and listen to music quite a bit as well. Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, Raven, Saxon, Anthrax, Accept, Judas Priest, Twisted Sister and Metallica's "Kill 'Em All" were some of his favorites. Unforutnately Heathen's Rage never broke out from the underground, although from the amount of e-mail I have received over the past few years from my simple mention of the band in my bio and on my Anthrax page, they have retained a cult status. I no longer have the demo or EP that I use to own. However, I thought I would include them on this page since so many people have asked me about them and there seems to be no information available about them anywhere else. The photos were taken by my wife Laurie, who was my high school girlfriend at that time. I'm keeping my eyes open to replace my original vinyl copy of this album. If anyone has any information on a copy, email me at ultmetal@cableone.net.
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Heathens Rage - The Years of Rage (bootleg) 2006 
1. "Knights of Steel" (4:38)
2. "City of Hell" (3:55)
3. "Dark Storn" (3:21)
4. "Defy the King" (2:59)
5. "Phantasm" (3:36)
6. "Nations Under War" (2:46)
7. "Fight 'till the End" (3:30)
8. ""Past Visions" (3:15)
9. "Enslave the Free" (2:54)
10. "Dark Storm" (3:13)
11. "Knights of Steel (4:44)
12. "Out In the Streets" (3:58)
13. "Far Beyond the Realms" (4:12)
14. "Fight 'Till the End" (3:23)
15. "Past Visions" (3:07)
16. "Phantasm" (3:29)
17. "Nations Under War" (2:41)
In my constant search to locate another original copy of the Heathens Rage EP, I found out that a company in Greece has bootlegged most of Heathens Rage's demos, along with the EP. When I finally secured a copy, imagine my surprise when I found out that all the photos in the booklet were taken from my site. Reading the 'biography' I was equally surprised to read that they even used my little write-up above, word for word, typos and all. Well, it's still cool to have all this material on a single disc. I find it pretty amusing that a local band from New Jersey who were never even fortunate enough to get a decent label, has developed such a cult following. The music doesn't seem to have been remastered, which is a shame as it really needs it. The original material was poorly recorded, despite the fact that the songs were so good. Bob Pizzauro's soaring voice, the speedy guitar licks, and quick drums are oustanding. Musically, Heathen's Rage fall somewhere between "Queen of the Ryche", "Fast As a Shark" and "Soldiers of Metal." It's a shame this band was never offered a decent record contract back in the day. They were easily one of the best metal bands to come out of the East Coast.
Heathen's Rage - Knights of Steel - The Anthology (No Remorse) 2015
DISC ONE
1. Power of the Sword (4:13)
2. Defy the King (2:57)
3. Knights of Steel (4:38)
4. Fight Till the End (3:26
5. Phantasm (3:34)
6. Nations Under War (2:44)
7. Past Visions (3:12)
8. Enslave the Free (2:52)
9. Dark Storm (3:09)
10. Far Beyond the Realms (3:28)
11. Phantasm (3:39)
12. Out on the Streets (3:58)
13. Nations Under War (2:50)
14. Ring of Fire (4:44)
15. Into the Light (4:41)
16. Only a Fool (4:53)
17. Out on the Streets (4:08)
DISC TWO
1. Knights of Steel (4:46)
2. City of Hell (4:02)
3. Dark Storm (3:26)
4. Defy the King (2:56)
5. Phantasm (3:33)
6. Nations Under War (2:44)
7. Fight Till the End (3:26)
8. Past Visions (3:11)
9. Enslave the Free (2:50)
10. Dark Storm (3:11)
11. Knights of Steel (4:39)
12. Out on the Streets (3:55)
13. Far Beyond the Realms (4:09)
In 2015 No Remorse Records in Greece release nearly all the old Heathens Rage recordings on vinyl, as well as this 2-CD set. The sound quality here is far better than anything that had been released previously. The seminal EP is included on this collection as the first four tracks of disc two. Fortunately much of the material on disc one sounds sonically better than that EP, which despite the incredible songs, is a bit rough. Hearing these songs, which were recorded between 1983 and 1990 really reminds me how this band was royally robbed and ignored by record companies. Hearing stories of how they were rejected by the likes of Metal Blade Records, even for inclusion on the Metal Massacre compilations is mind-boggling. Heathens Rage were heads and tails above many of the bands that they actually included on those compilations.
Musically Heathens Rage were what I would call "speed metal". They combined the songwriting of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden with the speed of "Fast As a Shark" and "Soldiers of Metal" as well as the finesse of "Queen of the Ryche". It was all about speedy licks, dual guitar harmonies of Tony Lee and Rob Warner, insane drumming and Bob Pizzauro's soaring vocals. While he had the range to hit songs like "Queen of the Ryche" and "Fast as a Shark", he also had a charisma and style that was all his own. Bob had leather lungs!
I don't think this compilation has every song the band ever recorded, I know for a fact that they recorded a few cover songs as well, including "Detroit Rock City", but this comes about as close to being an all inclusive collection as there ever will be.