Heaven Shall Burn - Invictus (Iconoclast III)
Intro
The Omen
Combat
I Was I Am I Shall Be
Buried In Forgotten Grounds
Sevastopol
The Lie You Bleed For
Return To Sanity
Against Bridge Burners
Of Forsaken Poets
Nowhere Given In Death
Outro
Since their first release in 2000, German deathcore troops, Heaven Shall Burn have proven reliable in terms of musical stability and a consistent album release rate of one every two years. Maintaining that balance comes part III of ‘Iconoclast’, which is also their sixth studio album ‘Invictus’. The content of this their latest release mostly fulfils the promise suggested by the album title (which is translated from a Latin term for ‘undefeated’ or ‘invincible’). There is certainly no doubt that ‘Invictus’ features nothing less than the highly regarded ruthless roars and disembowelling drum patterns encountered in their previous works.
The tranquil piano-based introduction, which is very similar to ‘Awoke’ from 2008’s ‘Iconoclast (Part 1: The Final Resistance)’, highlights by way of contrast, the inevitable ear-grabbing insanity that consumes the rest of the album. Forcefully plummeting into ‘The Omen’ and ‘Combat’, their guitar riffery resembles something close to ‘At The Gates’ during its more melodic segmentations. Diversified with the delicately placed yet bold use of electronic sounds, Heaven Shall Burn may have begun what could be a more distinctive sound to their music in the coming years. By no means would that be a bad thing, especially with a band that has been on the verge of landing in its own self-referential heaving bucket. Taking a more lax-on-the-ear approach with ‘Invictus’, the aggressively meditated last track (and ballad) (before the outro) ‘Given in Death’, is notable with the presence of female guest vocalist Sabine Wegner (from Deadlock), who helps bring the album back nicely to a distorted full circle.
Don’t hang the boots up with Heaven Shall Burn just yet, as this new album proves the beginning of something a bit different from this five-piece. They may have a lot more to offer, whilst maintaining that soothingly thunderous deathcore sound.
Reviewed by Dave Sherwood.
‘Invictus (Iconoclast III)’ is out 24th May 2010 on Century Media.
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