Heir Apparent

Heir Apparent is an American heavy/progressive metal band from Seattle, formed in 1983. History Heir Apparent was formed in 1983 in Seattle by guitarist Terry Gorle. Vocalist Paul Davidson, bassist Derek Peace, and drummer Jim Kovach joined with Gorle to form Heir Apparent's original lineup. In July 1984, the band entered Triad Studios in Redmond, WA to record a five-song demo that received local airplay on KISW and KZOK. A month after recording their first demo in 1984 Jim Kovach was replaced by Ray Schwartz (using the name Raymond Black). This lineup recorded Heir Apparent's debut studio album Graceful Inheritance. The album was released for European market in January 1986 by an independent French label Black Dragon Records. Supported by UK's Metal Hammer magazine, Heir Apparent toured France, Netherlands, and Germany in May and June 1986, originally as support act, but ending as headliner on tour with Savage Grace. Germany's Rock Hard gave the album a rating of 49/50 points in the February 1986 issue. Encouraged by good sales, Black Dragon re-released the album in October 1986, this time on CD, making it one of the first CD's released by an independent label in Europe. Graceful Inheritance was never released in the US in the 1980s, the group's home country. Graceful Inheritance was ranked No. 188 in the German hardcover book, Best of Rock and Metal – Top 500 Albums of All Time, published in 2005. Following the departure of lead vocalist Paul Davidson in 1987, Steve Benito took over the singing duties. Also, Heir Apparent's lineup was changed into a quintet by adding a keyboard player Mike Jackson. The new lineup recorded Heir Apparent's second studio album One Small Voice, which marked a musical shift towards the more technical sound of progressive metal, compared to the traditional heavy and power metal style of the previous release. In the summer of 1988, Heir Apparent had their first large arena performance, serving as an opening act for David Lee Roth, in the Seattle Center Coliseum. Soon after that, the band had signed a seven-album contract in 1988 in a joint venture with Capitol Records/Metal Blade, but suddenly dissolved even before the official release of One Small Voice in June 1989.