Heathen was one of several 80's thrash bands comprising the Bay Area thrash scene of the mid-to-late 80's, along with bands such as Exodus, Vio-lence, Death Angel, and Forbidden, among others. Guitarist Doug Piercy was a founding member of Anvil Chorus, a very popular early 80's metal band that inexplicably never got signed. Heathen's sound was typical for the time and place (that being energetic thrash), garnering good reviews and a steady following but not making it to the first division. The band had numerous ties to other San Francisco bands, as James Sanguinetti (Mordred) was a founding member (replaced by Piercy), Paul Baloff (Exodus) briefly replaced David Godfrey on vocals between albums, and Marc Biedermann (Blind Illusion) played bass on their second album. Several years after the initial breakup of the band, guitarist Lee Altus and drummer Darren Minter were seen in the German electronic band Die Krupps, with Altus sticking around for several albums in the mid-90's.

Following a reunion gig in 2001 (they played as part of the now-famous Thrash Of The Titans benefit concert), the band decided to reform, with a largely original lineup. Their first project is the completion of the Recovered album, a set of covers and demos that was started back in 1991. Recovered has now been released.