to be the second guitarist in the group and toured across Europe. Also in 2005, Lee Altus joined Bay Area thrashers Exodus, but remained a member of Heathen. In November 2007, the band recruited Prototype guitarist Kragen Lum and Mark Hernandez to replace Darren Minter and Lauderdale. Minter returned to the band the following year. The Evolution of Chaos (2009–2018) The band released their first studio album in nearly two decades, The Evolution of Chaos, on King Records in Japan December 23, 2009, on Mascot Records in Europe January 25, 2010, and on Mascot Records USA in America in February 2010. Heathen played at the Rock Hard Festival in Germany 2009 and later supported Testament, Exodus, and Kreator at Thrash Domination in Kawasaki, Japan. In support of The Evolution of Chaos, Heathen toured in April and May 2010 after having to cancel their planned March dates. In 2012, Heathen announced that they had signed a contract with Nuclear Blast Records for future albums. In the spring of 2013, the band announced the departure of longtime drummer Darren Minter. Former Evildead, Slayer and Testament drummer Jon Dette replaced him on the band's subsequent European tour. Heathen took part in the European Thrashfest Classics 2011 European tour, also featuring Sepultura, Exodus, Destruction and Mortal Sin. The tour concluded in Vienna, Austria on December 18, 2011. Empire of the Blind (2019–present) On January 16, 2019, Heathen announced on their Facebook page that they had begun working on new material for their fourth studio album. On February 26, 2020, Heathen uploaded a flyer on their Facebook page, revealing the artwork and Empire of the Blind as the title of their fourth album. This flyer was available at the merchandise table during the European Bay Strikes Back tour featuring Testament, Exodus and Death Angel. On June 26, 2020, Heathen released "The Blight" as the lead single from Empire of the Blind and announced that the album would be released on September 18. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the band had not been able to tour in support of Empire of the Blind for nearly two years. Heathen toured Europe in June with Toxik, and along with Exodus and Death Angel, they toured there through July and August by supporting Testament on the latter's Titans of Creation tour. The band will also tour Europe in April 2023 with Overkill and Exhorder. Shortly before the release of