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By the time this review is published, you’ll almost certainly have heard the biggest selling point on Heimat, the new album from HEAVEN SHALL BURN. Tucked away in the latter half of the track list is their take on Numbered Days, a long-time favourite from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE with none other than Jesse “Guest Appearance” Leach handling the chorus. In the hands of the German veterans, it’s lost none of its power and hearing a collaboration between two titans of metalcore is something of a dream come true for fans of the genre. The only drawback is that it kind of overshadows the rest of the record.
And this could have the unfortunate side effect of hiding just how good HEAVEN SHALL BURN are. For over twenty years, the five piece have been the classic example of a “big in Europe” band who remain comparatively unknown in the English-speaking world. This is a band who’ve headlined Wacken Open Air and regularly fill arenas, but it wasn’t until they got a support slot with TRIVIUM and graced the mainstage at Bloodstock that the UK started to take notice. They’ve finally gained some momentum this side of the channel, but Heimat almost feels like a deliberate attempt to derail that. Not because it’s bad or anything, quite the opposite. It’s just startlingly violent.
Heimat is marginally more accessible than their ace-but-really-bloody-long 2020 effort Of Truth And Sacrifice, but it’s still utterly punishing. This is high impact metalcore, driven by blast beats and guitar riffs reminiscent of grinding, industrial machines. Frontman Marcus Bischoff meanwhile possesses an unholy voice box; he screams like a man whose mouth is filled with razor blades, and besides that cameo from Jesse, there’s not a clean vocal to be found. Opener War Is The Father Of All is a lengthy composition that’s so brutal it could strip paint from walls, and even the more catchy tracks like My Revocation Of Compliance and lead single Confounder are delivered with merciless intent.
In other words, whether you’re a metalcore newbie who’s been lured in by the ‘Octane’ bands, or a seasoned veteran of many an UNEARTH show, this is likely to be the heaviest thing to grace your ears in 2025. HEAVEN SHALL BURN are as close to death metal as it’s possible to get without swapping genres and aside from a few emotive melodies, this is blisteringly uncommercial.
That being said, HEAVEN SHALL BURN have never been ones to compromise. Their brand of metalcore is fast, aggressive, and ruthlessly moralistic. They’re unashamedly left wing and while the lyrics are often impossible to decipher, you only need to scratch the surface to spot their support for climate activism, veganism, and other progressive causes. But at the same time, they are monstrously heavy and responsible for the most violent pits of the last two decades. Anyone expecting Heimat to be an hour of whining about avocados is going to get the audio equivalent of a scolding hot soy latte in the face, followed by a brick.
However, even with all the violence, it can’t be escaped that HEAVEN SHALL BURN are a genuinely excellent band. Songs like A Whisper From Above are flawlessly executed slices of melodic fury and even if it does feel unrelenting, subsequent listens reveal how textured the whole album is. Heimat is terrific, but it’s so vicious that it may turn a sizeable chunk of the audience away from everything except that Numbered Days cover. Don’t skip to the end this time England, it’s time to discover why a generation of German metalheads love this band.
Rating: 8/10
Heimat is out now via Century Media.
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The post ALBUM REVIEW: Heimat – Heaven Shall Burn appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
