Artist: Heaven Shall Burn
Label: Century Media Records
Release Date: 6/15/04
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Title: Antigone Artist: Heaven Shall Burn Label: Century Media Records Release Date: 6/15/04 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Listen to the track "The Weapon They Fear" (Courtsey of Century Media)
Abyss's Review:
First off, this album smokes. If this is metalcore, then I take back all of my pissings about how the genre is growing tired, because if this thing hits big, it's going to be a chiropractor's wet dream (2nd only to being accepted as real doctors, but let's face it, that ain't gonna happen!). Hell, I'm not even sure I know what metalcore is anymore, but this album displays some of the most compelling riffing I've ever heard.
"One word review: Droooool..." Of course, I'm not really sure about the title. I had assumed that it was about the Sophocles play about Oedipus' daughter, but I believe that was pronounce with a long 'E' at the end. I could swear I heard these guys screaming Anti-gone (as in, rhyming with panty-thon), so maybe not. Of course, I didn't have access to the lyrics, so I could have just butchered everything anyway, but at least I got to write down the phrase, "panty-thon".
Getting back to this album, it has quickly become one of my favorites of the year so far. My only fear is that I'll grow tired of it, but there seems to be no danger of that now. It is virtually impossible not to react to this record the first time you hear it. I kept catching myself bobbing my head on the subway, no doubt looking as much like an asshole as everyone else I see doing it does, but it was more reflex than anything else.
Heaven Shall Burn are catchy as hell while presenting punishing riffs that ooze with anger and sway with groove. The vocals are passionate and caustic and the low end vibrates down to my pant cuffs - putting a fist at the end of each arm and a sadistic grin on my face. So is it metalcore? Maybe, I don't know. Maybe I could find some of those hardcore clichés in it if I thought about it, but I can't because this thing blew my mind. They could have named this album Ebola, cause it's damn infectious. One word review: Droooool...
Death's Review:
I'm of two minds regarding Germany's Heaven Shall Burn. On the one hand, I recognize and applaud the aggression. Almost no whiny clean vocals here folks, just all out war and total annihilation. The riffing is pretty cool, and there are the occasional and subtle atmospheric keyboards (a la Fear Factory or newer In Flames but way more in the background and much less frequent) thrown into the mix to spice things up here and there. Also, some cool and unique influences are brought to bear, like the black metal-esque pedal point riffing heard on the opening song (track 2). On the other hand, the songs aren't that memorable, and the vocals are not dynamic enough to retain my interest for long stretches. The label bio's comparisons to a combo of Earth Crisis, Bolt Thrower and At the Gates are somewhat apt, but the songs don't stick with me, and I am not fully engaged. Yes, Heaven Shall Burn has more of a dual-guitar, Scandinavian death metal thing going than do some of their peers, but infusing metalcore with twin-guitar harmonies is becoming quite clichéd in and of itself. As tough-guy hardcore posturing goes, I'd rather hear Hatebreed. But that's just me. Yes, the guitars have that old-school Bolt Thrower style sound. But they mix in influences like Shai Hulud and Converge, and that's where they lose me. I am getting so sick of the influx of trendy hardcore crap into my beloved metal that I admit my ears are becoming quite fatigued on this sound and I'm probably unfairly taking it out on what is a pretty decent band if you are up for this sort of thing. I am to a certain degree, but to a certain degree I am not. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Metalcore is the new nu-metal, the current distraction that everyone loves and thinks substitutes for real metal but that lies just to the left of the true metal (see hair metal, then grunge, then nu-metal, etc.). Am I the last metalhead on the planet to take a stand against metalcore (Requiem, I know at least you are with me)? I do like metalcore bands who are very metal, like Shadows Fall, Lamb of God and the latest Killswitch Engage and God Forbid albums. But I don't like the screamo shit, and adding in melodic Scandinavian death influences isn't enough to sway me. True, these guys are probably more death metal than hardcore, but you get the point. Heaven Shall Burn aren't bad, in fact they are kinda good. But in the end, they really do that much for me, at least not as much as I had hoped.
"Heaven Shall Burn aren't bad, in fact they are kinda good."
Hel's Review:
My receipt of this release was preceded by a great deal of positive buzz. I heard lots of people say lots of nice things about the band, but my thoughts were, “yeah, we’ll see – still sounds like more hardcore to me.” In a way, we were all right. The one single thing that most firmly roots this to the hardcore genre is the vocals. They are all the straightforward, formulaic, harsh hardcore variety. To me, they sound both generic, and exactly what I hate about hardcore vocals. And never once do they deviate from this.
"The music, thankfully, is not at all generic or formulaic." The music, thankfully, is not at all generic or formulaic. In fact, if you somehow took the vocal track away, there would be a strong argument about whether this had any resemblance to hardcore at all. And so, Heaven Shall Burn has very deservedly been classified as metalcore. The saving grace of this album, for me, is that the music never once ventures into the traditional hardcore formula – no verse-chorus-breakdown recipe being followed here. Additionally, there are a number of subtle extras, like keyboards, scattered throughout the background of many of the songs.
So, no, Heaven Shall Burn will never be my favorite band, as the link to hardcore, primarily through the vocals, is too strong for my tastes, despite their obvious metal strengths. But I cannot begrudge them the fourth skull, as I can recognize their talents as musicians and songwriters even though some of it is not precisely to my personal tastes. If you’re like me, and can’t stand traditional hardcore vocals, even when laid over a very metal foundation, you may want to check out your friend’s copy, just so you’re well informed. If you are metalcore-friendly, but very picky about which bands you like, I am certain you will find this to your tastes. If you are a big fan of the metalcore movement, you need to ensure that you have this in your collection, as it is certainly one of the best releases the genre will see this year.
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