TVD season 7 release date!

Based on the post-apocalyptic chaos we witnessed at the end of The Vampire Diaries Season 6 finale, we knew the arrival of the Heretics in present-day Mystic Falls spelled trouble. And then, in a series of interesting San Diego Comic-Con interviews, executive producers Julie Plec and Caroline Dries kept describing them as this year's Big Bads " ones who are so vicious they are actually on par with The Originals.

"Klaus, Kai, and Katherine wreaked a lot of havoc and left a lot of bodies in their wake, so it will be hard to live up to their diabolical ways. However, this year we're going to get to watch Lily's super creepy witch-pire pals, the Heretics, in action, and per usual, there will be loads of bloodshed and showdowns to look forward to," Driesteased. "By bringing in Lily's family, it's these six villains who can do magic " and they're vampires," she revealed. "It's going to be exciting and gruesome and violent."

Well, let's just say these magic-siphoning bloodsuckers definitely live up to the hype; judging by the new photos from the upcoming Season 7 premiere, "Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take" that TVGuide.comrecently unveiled, they seem like ruthless villains who are dead set on crashing local celebrations and essentially ruining our beloved characters' lives.

Care for a sneak peek? Then scroll through the gallery below for your first glimpse of the heretics " including Scarlett Byrne and Teressa Liane as same-sex couple Nora and Mary Louise, and Jaiden Kane as Beau " attacking Stefan and Caroline and inflicting them with pain via a witchy migraine; Bonnie consoling Damon while he drowns his woes in booze; and a well-dressed Lily Salvatore striking fear in everyone's heart as the show's formidable matriarch.