Heir Apparent was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by guitarist Terry Gorle. The original lineup also consisted of vocalist Paul Davidson, bassist Derek Peace, and drummer Jim Kovach. A month after recording their 1984 5-song demo, Kovach was replaced by Ray Schwartz (who went by the name of Ray Black because... well, face it, image was everything in the 80's.) Now fast forward to January of 1986, when rave reviews by the European metal magazine underground resulted in the release of Heir Apparent's first album, "Graceful Inheritance" by Black Dragon Records of Paris, France. Heir Apparent toured France, The Netherlands, and Germany in May & June of 1986, originally as support, but ending as headliner on tour with Savage Grace. Album and concert reviews were very positive. In fact, for over 20 years "Graceful Inheritance" has remained the highest rated album by the editorial staff of Germany's ROCK HARD magazine. Yet, the album was never released in the US... By 1987, Steve Benito was recruited as the new vocalist, and Mike Jackson was added on keyboards. The band signed a 7 album contract in 1988 in a joint venture with Capitol Records/Metal Blade. Heir Apparent's second album, "One Small Voice" was released in 1989 after the band had dissolved.
...a decade passes...
In late 1999, Hellion Records-Germany, reissued "Graceful Inheritance" with bonus tracks, and the live/studio demo compilation CD "Triad". The band was inactive until 2000 when guitarist Terry Gorle was invited to perform at Germany's WACKEN OPEN AIR Festival, reuniting with the original rhythm section of Ray Schwartz and Derek Peace. Following the Wacken performance, Terry Gorle led several different lineups in concerts between 2002-2004, culminating with another trip to Europe in November of 2006, headlining Germany's KEEP IT TRUE Festival, and two shows in Greece.
Plans to record a new CD are underway.