Heathen

Heathen (plural heathens, collectively heathenry, adjective heathen) refers to someone who does not follow one of the major world religions, and who may or may not specify any other religious affiliation. More specific meanings include:

Other uses

See also

Heathen (Thou album)

Heathen is the fourth studio album by American metal band Thou. It was released on March 25, 2014 through Gilead Media.

Critical reception

The album generally received rave reviews from music critics. Allmusic critic Gregory Heaney praised the album, writing that it "rewards repeat listens with new surprises, giving anyone with the fortitude to wade through the muck and sludge even more glimpses at the warm, shoegaze center that lives at the heart of this doomy juggernaut." Iann Robinson of CraveOnline awarded the album with a perfect score, stating: "Heathen leaves you breathless, stammering for a way to process everything you’ve just heard." Robinson also added that the band "are able to translate the darkest parts of the human soul into music, and for that we should all be grateful."Pitchfork's Kim Kelly described the album as "a portrait of a band that is in complete harmony with itself, if not the world it inhabits." Michael Nelson of Stereogum regarded the record as "a dark, bombastic, hugely ambitious album of great sorrow, but perhaps even greater beauty," while Spin magazine described it as "the culmination of all that perspiration, almost cinematic in the scope of the suffering and seething anger it portrays."The Quietus' Robin Smith thought the record as "doom metal siren song – its beauty is incidental to a forever kind of pain."

Heathen (band)

Heathen is an American thrash metal band originating from the San Francisco Bay Area , founded in 1984 by guitarist Lee Altus and drummer Carl Sacco. They have released three albums, Breaking the Silence (1987), Victims of Deception (1991) and The Evolution of Chaos (2010).

History

First era (1984-1992)

Heathen was formed in 1984 by guitarist Lee Altus and drummer Carl Sacco (formerly of Metal Church), who later recruited lead vocalist Sam Kress and guitarist Jim Sanguinetti (Who went on to found the band Mordred). Shortly after their first gig in 1985, Kress and Sanguinetti left the group and were replaced by vocalist David Godfrey (formerly of Blind Illusion) and guitarist Doug Piercy (formerly of Anvil Chorus and Control). The band also recruited bassist Eric Wong around this time. This lineup debuted in early 1986 and soon became prolific around the Bay Area. Their early style could be described as the aggression of thrash metal combined with NWOBHM-style vocals and arrangements, acoustic intros or outros, and fast-paced melodic shred solos.

Wyrd

Wyrd is a concept in Anglo-Saxon culture roughly corresponding to fate or personal destiny. Their concept of fate, wyrd, was stronger than that of the Classical Pagans as there was no resisting it. The word is ancestral to Modern English weird, which retains its original meaning only dialectically.

The cognate term in Old Norse is urðr, with a similar meaning, but also personalized as one of the Norns, Urðr (anglicized as Urd) and appearing in the name of the holy well Urðarbrunnr in Norse mythology.

Etymology

The Old English term wyrd derives from a Common Germanic term *wurđíz.Wyrd has cognates in Old Saxon wurd, Old High German wurt, Old Norse urðr, Dutch worden (to become), and German werden. The Proto-Indo-European root is *wert- "to turn, rotate", in Common Germanic *wirþ- with a meaning "to come to pass, to become, to be due" (also in weorþ, the notion of "origin" or "worth" both in the sense of "connotation, price, value" and "affiliation, identity, esteem, honour and dignity.)

Wyrd (company)

Wyrd Miniatures produces a range of 32 mm metal and plastic miniatures, in several genres, for painters and gamers. Established and offering its first miniatures in 2005, the company is owned by Nathan Caroland and Eric Johns. In 2009, Wyrd published its first game, Malifaux, set in a dystopian city in a parallel world. In 2011 they introduced the board game Puppet-Wars.

History

A short history of the company and its founding can be read in the Malifaux rule book:

The first years the company focused on casting miniatures for the wargaming and miniature painting market. According to Eric Johns, it started with Nathan putting together a few fun minis after having gotten friendly with a sculptor. It was only in 2007 he and Nathan decided to push forward as a real company and started developing their own game rules to go with their miniatures line.

After the release of Malifaux in 2009, which incorporated most of the miniature range, came a time of rapid expansion, and in March 2011 the company moved for the second time in 16 months allegedly to accommodate its growth, settling into a larger office and warehouse facility.

Wyrd (band)

Wyrd is a Finnish Pagan black metal band which was formed in 1998. The band was originally formed under the name Hellkult in 1997 by Narqath and drummer Kalma (ex- Azaghal). The first Wyrd demo was released in early 2000, "Unchained Heathen Wrath" featured material recorded between 1998 and 2000. The lyrical themes are centered on old folklore and Nordic mythology. The name "Wyrd" is from Old English, meaning fate.

Current members

Discography

Studio albums