I bet you didn't think that Heaven Shall Burn could get any more ambitious in their songwriting and album concepts after Veto, did you? Oh and you definitely thought they were going to lighten up after the repeated pummeling they gave you Wanderer, huh? Well, the joke is on you sucker, because Heaven Shall Burn's eighth album Of Truth & Sacrifice is over a hundred and thirty minutes of double trouble, and it is extra as fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Debuting at #1 on the German album charts, Of Truth & Sacrifice sees Heaven Shall Burn exceeding all previous benchmarks set for themselves in terms of technical adventurism and savage demolition-mode rock ‘n roll. The band has come a long way from their early days as a metalcore band with a Bolt Thrower fetish and a sticky At the Gates habit, and I doubt anyone who heard Asunder back in 2000 would have anticipated that the band would transform in such dramatic ways over the proceeding twenty years (provided anyone expected them to last that long to begin with). Indeed, Of Truth & Sacrifice is everything an adolescent metalcore band could hope to be when they grow up. And it's ok. Just ok.
To be clear, there are some straight bangers Of Truth & Sacrifice, like "Thoughts and Prayers" where the band sounds like a monstrous war-machine with Christian Bass's drumwork laying down covering fire for Markus Bischoff explosive vocal performance while blinding search-light like leads sweep overhead. The band goes full OS death metal with a taste of Nile's decisive attack on "What War Means." "Tirpitz" puts one between your eyes with a suicidal Bolt Thrower groove that paves the way for sharp, low-flying leads that will take your head off if you don't duck in time. There is even an admirable Nuclear Assault cover as well, bringing the untamable "Critical Mass" to heel, and making it their war-stallion. So why is this not the best deathcore release of the year? Well, it's not for their lack of trying. "Expatriate" sees the band embracing balladry with a bitter-sweet and feathery piano lead orchestral number. The guys also branch out into industrial electronic dance music, most notably on the dark, trancy, and futuristic "La Resistance." Ultimately, the problem here is not due to a lack of complexity or intensity, but a lack of restraint. There is simply too much material here, and listening to the entire album in one sitting can be a bit of an endurance challenge. Even though I enjoy what I'm hearing every time I give this baby a spin, I can't shake the feeling that it could have been trimmed down to a tidy 40 minutes, with the remainder appearing on a handful of EPs, or even held for an epic B-Side Comp. Let me put it this way. Of Truth & Sacrifice is like if someone were walking by with a full sheet cake, stopped to asked me if I wanted a slice, and when I answered "yes" they proceeded to dump the whole thing in my lap. I mean, I like cake. And I intend to eat all of the cake that has been deposited in my crotch and on my thighs, but I honestly would have been satisfied with a modest slice of cake on a paper plate with a scope of ice cream on the side. Heaven Shall Burn did some excellent metalcore here, but they did it too much. You hear me? You're too much boys! Reel it in!
Clear some space on your hard drive and grab a copy of Of Truth & Sacrifice from Century Media here.
