David R White is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 lead vocalist

Lead vocalist

The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...

 who is best known for singing in the thrash metal band Heathen

Heathen (band)

Heathen is an American thrash metal band originating from the Bay Area San Francisco, founded in 1984 by guitarist Lee Altus and drummer Carl Sacco...

. Having stints in underground thrash bands Blind Illusion

Blind Illusion

Blind Illusion is an American progressive thrash metal band from Richmond, California. Formed in 1979 by lead guitarist and main songwriter Marc Biedermann, the band had an extremely unstable lineup and went through several stylistic changes during their time...

 and Laughing Dead, he joined Heathen in 1985. He was ousted from the band in 1989, replaced by Paul Baloff

Paul Baloff

Paul Baloff was an American singer, most notable for his time in thrash metal band Exodus.Paul was the second vocalist with Exodus replacing Keith Stewart in 1981 and singing on their 1982 Demo and their first official album Bonded by Blood in 1985. After the release, they started the...

, but returned that same year, performing on both of their LP's, Breaking the Silence

Breaking the Silence

- Films :*Breaking the Silence a 1992 made-for-TV film.* Breaking the Silence , a 2000 Chinese film* Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror, a 2003 documentary film...

and Victims of Deception

Victims of Deception

Victims of Deception is the second album by the US thrash metal band Heathen released in 1991 by Roadrunner Records.It was re-issued by Metal Mind Productions in 2006 as a digipak in a limited amount of 2000 numbered copies....

. White immediately stood out from the thrash metal crowd with his operatic, high pitched singing style.

In 1992 White performed harmony backing vocals on thrash metal

Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 band Defiance

Defiance (band)

Defiance is a thrash metal band from Oakland, California. While virtually unknown to mainstream metal and rock circles, Defiance is known as one of the classic second-tier thrash bands to come from the Bay Area thrash metal scene...

's track "Inside Looking Out" from their Beyond Recognition

Beyond Recognition

Beyond Recognition is the third full length album, and final until 2009's The Prophecy by thrash metal band Defiance, released in 1992 on Roadrunner Records. This album was a bit of a departure from the bands previous work...

album. Following the departure of Defiance vocalist Steev Esquivel

Steev Esquivel

Steev Esquivel is a Mexican-American heavy metal vocalist and bassist. He is best known for his work in the metal band Skinlab. He also has sung for the bands Laughing Dead , Defiance , and Xzanthus. He was a member of the thrash metal band, Exodus for a brief period...

 and the dissolution of Heathen, White joined Defiance, which later evolved into Inner Threshold. In 2001 he returned to a reunited Heathen, and also played in a classic rock/metal cover band Fat Freddie's Cat with former Defiance members Doug Harrington

Doug Harrington

Doug Harrington was an American heavy metal guitarist. He was best known for being one of the lead guitarists for the thrash metal band Defiance throughout their entire recording career...

, Jim Adams

Jim Adams

Jim Adams born is an American heavy metal guitarist. His is best known for being lead guitarist for thrash metal band Defiance. Joining the band in 1986, Adams quickly became an integral member of the band, co-writing much of their material and playing on all three of their LP's, Product of...

, and Mike Kaufmann

Mike Kaufmann

Mike Kaufmann is an American heavy metal bass guitarist. He is best known as the bass player for the thrash metal band Defiance...

.