There is a bit of irony in having Bay Area thrash metal legends Heathen headline a show at a place with Chapel in the name. On Monday, July 27, Heathen came to Chapel of Bones in Raleigh to throw down, and throw down they did, with support from Lafayette, Louisiana’s Void and Raleigh, North Carolina’s Outliar. This was probably the thrashiest night I have experienced at Chapel of Bones in the past year.

Heathen played plenty of fan favorites, including “Dying Season,” “Open the Grave,” “Heathen’s Song,” and “Hypnotized.” They also played their new cover of Iron Maiden’s “The Prisoner,” which was released less than two weeks before the show. So, as a fan, you definitely got what you came for. They played to the fans, fed off the energy, and did all the other clichés you can think of. But they themselves are not cliché, to be clear. Formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1984, Heathen is a core force and part of the origin story behind the thrash genre.