Artist: Heaven Shall Burn
Title: Of Truth and Sacrifice
Genre: Death Metal / Metalcore
Release Date: 20th March 2020
Label: Century Media
Album Review
It’s not an album, but a double album that HEAVEN SHALL BURN put out on Friday. This double album of 100 minutes consists two parts, the first record ‘Of Truth’ and the second record ‘Of Sacrifice’. A concept album that explores the idea of truth and questions what sacrifices we are willing to make for that truth.
After a two-year break from the usual album / turnaround cycle and four years after the release of their last work, ‘Wanderer’, the Germans are now celebrating their comeback. In addition to the album, a DVD with a 78-minute documentary entitled ‘Mein Grünes Herz in Dunklen Zeiten’ will be released. This was filmed by Ingo Schmoll, whom the band followed for almost a year to get to the bottom of the phenomenon HEAVEN SHALL BURN. The cover of ‘Of Truth And Sacrifice’ was designed by the now famous Eliran Kantor, who is known for his covers for TESTAMENT, SOULFLY, BLOODBATH or MY DYING BRIDE.
On first hearing the first pieces, it seems as if the whole thing is nothing new: the double pedal, the characteristic riffs of Maik Weichert and Alexander Dietz, without forgetting the specific voice of Marcus Bischoff. The fans of the genre will appreciate this, but for the listeners who expected a fresh sound, it is a bit disappointing at first. This album is on the same wavelength as ‘Iconoclast’ here. A hint for this is the well-known quote: “We are the final resistance”, which you can hear in ‘Thoughts And Prayers’. But even before you think the whole album is getting boring, the listener wakes up with ‘Expatriate’, which finally brings some sweetness into the whole with the play of a calm and melodic piano intro. The piano is later accompanied by violins.
You might have thought it was an instrumental piece, but no, it’s not. A somewhat more detached voice gives a sermon before growling vocals and the whole band arrive again. The faster the rhythm and the more the timbre is broken, the more intense the violins become. After the melodic heaviness of the first songs, where the listeners were headbanging at full throttle the whole time, this short time is good for taking a deep breath. But this little break is not of long duration. ‘What War Means’ and ‘Terminate The Unconcern’ again begins a brutal death struggle. Here they are again, the well-known deathcore elements. Even though they are predictable, they are still very well done and efficient. ‘The Ashes Of My Enemies’ finishes the first part ‘Of Truth’ with violins, which is good to switch off and prepare for the next part.
Will the second part ‘Of Sacrifice’ be as predictable as ‘Of Truth’ or does the listener expect a surprise here? Hope is allowed, because with ‘Children Of A Lesser God’ the listener is now more in the metalcore. But also, here the basics of the style apply, which admittedly provides some variety in the album. And suddenly, after waiting for a slap in the face after more than forty minutes of listening, you finally get slapped. The second track ‘La Résistance’ is more than confusing! Here a mixture of brutal harshness, disco groove and club beats meet, which reminds of NINE INCH NAILS.
The rest of this second part is similar to the scheme of the first one. With ‘Critical Mass’ there’s even a song in terms of brutality, which hasn’t been reached by excursions into grind fields yet. On the other hand, there are also extremely quiet moments, like the closer ‘Weakness Leaving My Heart’, which - practically free of any harshness - rounds off the album atmospherically. In summary, listeners can say that the band has not changed its melody and has remained musically true to itself. Even if this might sound a bit negative, it is not. HEAVEN SHALL BURN fans will love the album, while the other side of the fans - including myself - might have expected a little more variation.
To ‘Of Truth And Sacrifice’ belong, besides the music, also the lyrics, which are again no easy fare. Sometimes the Thuringians take the perspective of hopeless refugees. At other times the US-American weapon lobby, for whom profit is more important than human life, gets a concentrated load of hate. There’s no other way to put it: HEAVEN SHALL BURN is once again putting its finger in the wounds of the world.
Tracklist
CD1: Of Truth
01. March Of Retribution
02. Thoughts And Prayers
03. Eradicate
04. Protector
05. Übermacht
06. My Heart And The Ocean
07. Expatriate
08. What War Means
09. Terminate The Unconcern
10. The Ashes Of My Enemies
CD2: Of Sacrifice
01. Children Of A Lesser God
02. La résistance
03. The Sorrows Of Victory
04. Stateless
05. Tirpitz
06. Truther
07. Critical Mass (Nuclear Assault cover)
08. Eagles Among Vultures
09. Weakness Leaving My Heart
Line-up
Marcus Bischoff – Vocals
Maik Weichert – Guitar
Alexander Dietz – Guitar
Eric Bischoff – Bass
Christian Bass – Drums
Website
www.heavenshallburn.com
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7 / 10
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