''The Evolution of Chaos'' is the third studio album by American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band Heathen. It is their first album in 18 years since 1991's ''

Victims of Deception ''Victims of Deception'' is the second album by the American thrash metal band Heathen, which was released in 1991 by Roadrunner Records. It was re-issued by Metal Mind Productions in 2006 as a digipak in a limited amount of 2,000 numbered copie ...

''. It was released in Japan on December 23, 2009 via King Records, January 25, 2010 in Europe, and on March 31, 2010 in the US via

Mascot Records Mascot Records is a record label and rock music subsidiary of Mascot Label Group. Artists * 10 Years * King Falcon *Agent Steel *Black Country Communion * Black Label Society * Black Stone Cherry *Bootsy Collins * Calva Louise * Crobot * Conque ...

. This album marked the band's first to feature guitarist Kragen Lum, the second and last to feature drummer Darren Minter, and would be the only one to feature Jon Torres on bass.

Release

Heathen had recorded ''The Evolution of Chaos'' in 2008 and was originally scheduled for release on July 20, 2009, but was pushed back to late 2009 as more time was needed to complete the mixing process.

Track listing

Reception

Reviews for the album have been very positive.

Metal Rules ''Metal Rules'', also known as Metal-Rules, is a heavy metal webzine established in 1995 by owner and editor EvilG. Based in the province of Newfoundland, Canada, the site was founded to promote "Real Metal," which is one of the world's larg ...

gave the album a perfect five out of five, calling it an "absolute masterpiece of modern thrash" and "flawless in almost every way". The album has also netted an 8.7 out of 10 on

Ultimate Guitar Ultimate Guitar (Ultimate Guitar USA LLC), also known as Ultimate-Guitar.com or simply UG, is an online platform for guitarists and musicians, started on October 9, 1998 by Eugeny Naidenov and based in San Francisco, US. Its website and mobile ...

Personnel

*David White – lead vocals *

Lee Altus Lee Altus (born Leonid Altus, May 13, 1966) is a guitarist who is a member of the thrash metal bands Exodus and Heathen. Career Altus first came to public attention in the mid-1980s with his original band, Heathen. He served as the princi ...

– guitars *Kragen Lum – guitars, backing vocals *Jon Torres – bass, backing vocals *Darren Minter – drums, backing vocals Additional musicians *

Steve DiGiorgio Steve Di Giorgio (born November 7, 1967) is an American bass guitarist. He is known for his work with numerous heavy metal bands such as Sadus (of which he was a co-founder), Death, Testament, Megadeth, Sebastian Bach, Iced Earth, Autopsy, Obit ...

– bass (

fretless A fretless guitar is a guitar with a fingerboard without frets, typically a standard instrument that has had the frets removed, though some custom-built and commercial fretless guitars are occasionally made. The classic fretless guitar was first ...

) on "No Stone Unturned",

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

on "Intro" *Jon Allen – percussion and chimes on "Intro", backing vocals * Gary Holt – guitars solo on "Control by Chaos" *Adam Harrington – narration on "A Hero's Welcome", backing vocals *Juan Urteaga – backing vocals *

Rob Dukes Robert Dukes (born March 8, 1968) is an American vocalist, best known as the lead singer for the thrash metal band Exodus from 2005 to 2014 and again since 2025. He is also the vocalist of the crossover thrash project Generation Kill. Early li ...

– backing vocals *Dean Bardwell – backing vocals *Tambre Bryant – backing vocals *Terry Lauderdale – lead guitars on "Arrows of Agony" and "Silent Nothingness", backing vocals *Alina "Squeak" Hernes – backing vocals Production *Travis Smith – artwork, layout, design *Juan Urteaga – producer, recording *Alina "Squeak" Hernes – photography *Jacob Hansen – mixing, mastering *Jeppe Anderson – engineering (assistant)

Note

"A Hero's Welcome" features a voice-over from video game voice actor Adam Harrington, the brother of late guitarist Doug Harrington of

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

, in which David White was also a member of from 1992 to 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evolution of Chaos, The 2010 albums Heathen (band) albums Albums with cover art by Travis Smith (artist)