Heaven: Second Coming |

Just Heavy Metal

(1999 – Producciones Cristianas Asociadas)

It was really almost a pipe dream that a Heavy Metal band with Christian lyrics could release an album here in Argentina during the ’90s. In truth, it’s still just as complicated and difficult as it was back then—and that’s without ignoring the fact that for Metal in general, everything always costs twice, three times, or four times as much. The effort behind every project is enormous, and it’s something that often goes unappreciated; but for bands that used to promote a Christian message, things were always much harder—both because of prejudice and the little to no support they received.
In this case, we want to highlight an album that has generally gone unnoticed by the vast majority of the public—including many media outlets—and about which little is known. We’re talking about “Second Coming”, the first and only album by Heaven, a traditional Heavy Metal band contemporary to groups like Lázaro, Boanerges, Triade, Nuevo Pacto, and so many others from the ’90s—bands that, in some way, played a part in the history of what’s known as White Metal here in Argentina.

Many bands from those years never got past a demo—and that was it. Heaven went further and managed to release this album in 1999, after putting out a cassette demo—a copy of which we keep in our archives—that, in a way, foreshadowed what this album, titled “Second Coming”, would become.
Musically speaking, Heaven’s sound seems easy to define, yet at the same time, it’s no simple task. Their roots are clearly grounded in traditional Heavy Metal—pure and simple, without any compromises. With a vocalist whose delivery is sufficiently strident and a foundation of strong, aggressive riffs, Heaven captured their sound with striking simplicity; but as we delve deeper into their material—especially this album—we’ll find several nods to Doom Metal and a certain dose of Thrash in some of their riffs, and while the Sabbath-esque vibe is undeniable, there’s a clear direction toward Metal with a national character and influence.
In fact, speed isn’t Heaven’s thing. Rather, their pace is generally at half-throttle—stilted and with a bass that sets the foundation for each track alongside the raw sound of the guitars. This rawness and simplicity are hallmarks of “Second Coming”, a straightforward take on traditional, combative Heavy Metal at its finest.
“Second Coming” features 12 songs framed by a clear and direct Christian message, with a certain dose of social realism that still resonates today—a clear example of this is the album’s opener, “Acostumbrado A Perder”, which paints a vivid picture and includes a description that will sound familiar to many (“A White Flag on His Chest… Resignation in His Being”). With a solid, mid-tempo foundation, this is where Heaven sums up its sound a bit.

Along the same lines, we can note “Ciegos”, with some notable fragments and heavy riffs, but in “Salmo I”, we’ll find a bit more speed, and musically it reminds us a bit of the thrash foundations of Lethal/Nepal—though with some differences, since the vocals are completely different.
“Quema” may be the track closest to Doom Metal, both in lyrics and music, featuring a rather graphic description of hell—one of the album’s highlights—followed by “Él Volverá”, a mid-tempo track with a latent acceleration, yet boasting some interesting twists and the occasional Thrash influence at its core.
Another highlight could be “Hechos”, an epic ballad-style piece featuring standout melodic passages and a guitar solo that stands out as one of Heaven’s finest moments, ending with a riff in the best Maiden style.
Then comes the ballad “En Tus Ojos”, followed by “Fin De La Opresión”, with which Heaven returns us to the path of traditional, uncompromising Heavy Metal—a track that, even nearly 30 years later, still feels current, or one might even say prophetic.
“Hijos De La Noche” continues Heaven’s unique take on social issues in a track that, with relentless pounding, sets the rhythm and pulse of the matter, while “No Es Fácil”, with an almost epic opening, takes us through one of the album’s hardest-hitting and most pounding tracks.
With a vibe fully rooted in Heavy Thrash and blistering speed, we come to “Habrá Un Juicio”, which blows your mind and shakes your soul. Yes, it may be very basic, raw, and even rough, but it clearly showcases Heaven’s most fierce side. Given how different it sounds from the other tracks, I suspect it didn’t actually come from the session that gave rise to the album, though that’s just an unconfirmed hunch.

And to wrap things up, we have “Más Que Vencedor”, another clear demonstration of pure, hard-hitting Heavy Metal—the kind Heaven used to rock out back in the day—and which somehow serves as a great finale for an essential album in the history of White Metal.
“Second Coming” may sound rather flat, musically speaking, and even show some repetition in certain patterns, but it’s undeniable that the context in which it was recorded and produced highlights the band’s bold move—and that of the label that promoted it—something not very common in those years, since very few bands actually managed to release an album.
At its core, Heaven possessed that very Argentine, national metallic sound—both in music and lyrics—beyond the obvious influences that shaped it and the clearly Christian message in its lyrics. With an unconventional and quite distinctive style, they gave “Second Coming” a unique character—an album we set out to revisit and listen to again.
The album was released in 1999 but recorded in May 1998 at “Zero Producciones Digitales” studios. The audio resulting from the recording and mixing gives us a sound that’s quite flat, with guitars that are not very expressive but are heavy and harsh, and a sound marked by the bass lines and the sharp, hard hits of the drums. Moreover, Heaven sounds natural and completely unpretentious. That’s what was captured, and that’s what you hear on “Second Coming”—nothing more, nothing less.
The album was released not only on CD but also on cassette. The cover art and graphic design aren’t particularly original either; rather, they complement the band’s name and the album’s specific message. Inside the booklet, we find the lyrics to the songs and a rather distorted photo of the band. Simple but effective, and with a quality typical of the era in which it was released.
Over time, “Second Coming” went out of print, and we heard nothing more from Heaven. It was never reissued, and I’m afraid it will be very difficult for this material to see the light of day again in physical format, although that would be great.

Heaven consisted of Ricardo Gomez on vocals, Oscar Banda on guitars, Gustavo Martinez on drums, and Ernesto Juarez on bass. The band changed some of its members and its name later on, at least according to some sources, though it’s also possible that this refers to a different project. As far as we know, the band Heaven never released anything else. At least not under that name. In any case, this information hasn’t been fully verified. The only thing that’s certain is that Heaven, as a band, went down in history and left its mark with this sole album, “Second Coming”—a fine testament to those early years of White Metal.
And that’s one of the reasons why we’re such strong advocates for the physical format. Without any physical recordings or copies, it would be quite difficult to find and preserve material like “Second Coming”, and perhaps Heaven would have been overlooked, but for us, they never went unnoticed. As a way to do justice to their achievement, here is this brief review and tribute to an album that some will remember and many others will only now learn about. It’s worthwhile in both cases.
Heaven was one of the pioneering bands in the White Metal scene. Their sound, centered on traditional and hard-hitting metal, had its own unique characteristics—contributed by the band itself—and “Second Coming” remains in our memory as an album to remember and relive…
And in the meantime, for those who never knew Heaven, or simply want to listen to the band online, we’ve included the full album below…