HEAVEN SHALL BURN: Heimat (METALCORE): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

With a stable lineup for some time now, the confident American band Heaven Shall Burn has been churning out tours and albums that are musical labyrinths, varied and violent. “Of Truth and Sacrifice” was well received. Five years have passed, and now here is the highly anticipated “Heimat.” Will this opus stray from the straight and narrow path?

The album starts off gently with a track adorned with violins and strings, enveloped in softness and tenderness (“Ad Arma”). It's beautiful, it's sad, and it sets the tone for a dark and desperate production. Then grandiose choirs invade the next track and herald an intense musical war, supported by percussive guitars (“War Is The Father Of All”). The tracks deliver sophisticated, modern, and violent music, even if we can already sense a few weaknesses, including the band's abandonment of its roots in favor of mainstream metalcore with classic structures.

Beautiful melodies coat the tracks and soften the violence to make it almost acceptable (“My Revocation Of Compliance”). The album oscillates between contained violence carried by killer guitars and a relative gentleness born of musical interludes (“Imminence”). The vocals are impeccable, the guitar riffs are well crafted, even if they are fairly classic, and the drumming is expert. The tracks seem aggressive, but they don't make much of a splash. The riffs with their shimmering melodies are more influenced by metalcore than deathcore (“A Whisper From Above”). A troubling feeling arises as you listen, because the surprise wears off and interest deflates like a soufflé, with Heaven Shall Burn following well-trodden paths (“Cofounder”) and almost anything that might rub or tickle the ears being wisely erased, except for the harsh vocals and a few blasts (“The Days In May”).

It was with slight apprehension that we started listening to “Heimat,” and this impression was confirmed as we listened. The music follows a precise model without questioning it, racing down a straight highway, sometimes too straight. The album, interesting and disappointing, is well played, with perfectly executed riffs and impeccable vocals. The songs, strong in their numerous melodies, suffer from their smoothness and lack of desire to deviate from a straight trajectory. Thus, despite its undeniable high quality, “Heimat” pales in comparison to some of the band's past productions, as it sorely lacks surprises and flaws. - Official website

HEAVEN SHALL BURN

HEIMAT

CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

METALCORE