For the lowest of the low
My voice for the voiceless,
My fists for the innocent!"
Heaven Shall Burn are a German Metalcore-influenced Melodic Death Metal band. They were formed in 1995 by guitarist Maik Weichert and drummer Matthias Voigt, initially under the names "Before The Fall" and "Consense" before vocalist Marcus Bischoff and his bassist cousin Eric would join and, inspired by the title of a Marduk album, change the band's name to what it is now. According to Marcus, despite how it may seem, the band's name is not an anti-religious statement but rather a reference to people living in their own "heaven" to drown out the truths of the world around them.
They would then independently release a debut EP entitled "In Battle There Is No Law" in 1998, named after Bolt Thrower's first album. They were soon signed to Lifeforce records in 2000 and released their debut full-length, followed by a sophomore effort in 2002, which also came repackaged with the EP.
For 2004, Antigone was released, and Iceland Neo-Classical composer Ólafur Arnalds provided classical music parts for some of the songs off that album. The rest of the album was also more melodic in nature. In 2005, Patrick Schleitzer had left the band, being replaced by Alexander Dietz.
They signed to Century Media for Deaf to Our Prayers. In February 2008, Iconoclast (Part One: The Final Resistance) was released. The album lyrically reviews subjects such as Laicism, Nietzsche's “God is dead” philosophy, heroes of the German Resistance in World War II, and Germany's ongoing struggle to reconcile with its past.
In May 2009, Heaven Shall Burn released their first DVD, Bildersturm - Iconoclast II (The Visual Resistance). Invictus (Iconoclast III) was released in 2010, ending the Iconoclast trilogy.
In 2013, Veto was released, finally ending their decade long streak of releasing albums bi-annually. Wanderer came in 2016 along with a bonus disc of cover songs recorded during the session, and after a four year gap in releases, the double-album Of Truth and Sacrifice finally came in March 2020 and is considered to be the band's longest and most ambitious record yet.
Current members:
- Marcus Bischoff – vocals (1998–present)
- Maik Weichert – guitar (1995–present)
- Alexander Dietz – guitar (2005–present)
- Eric Bischoff – bass (1998–present)
- Christian Bass – drums (2013–present)
Discography:
- In Battle There Is No Law (EP) (1998)
- Asunder (2000)
- Whatever It May Take (2002)
- Antigone (2004)
- Deaf to Our Prayers (2006)
- Iconoclast (Part 1: The Final Resistance) (2008)
- Bildersturm – Iconoclast II (DVD) (2009)
- Invictus (Iconoclast III) (2010)
- Veto (2013)
- Wanderer (2016)
- Of Truth and Sacrifice (2020)
Heaven Shall Burn displays the examples of the following:
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: They're not huge fans of Marduk, but they stated that their name comes from an album of theirs, simply cause it sounded cool, but also since they feel that people are stuck in this "fake paradise"
- All Germans Are Nazis: This concept is discussed and Deconstructed in many songs, Iconoclast even has several tracks revolving around the German Resistance of World War II.
- Band of Relatives: Type 1: Marcus and Eric Bischoff are cousins.
- Careful with That Axe: Marcus does this to maximum effect pretty much all the time, especially in many of their notable songs like "Endzeit" and "Combat", so much so that his voice was actually shot for a while from all the screaming.
- Child Soldiers: The subject of "Combat".
- Break the Cutie: Sadly, a very real life example as the lyrics are from the point of view of said child soldiers.
- Concept Album: The Iconoclast trilogy, which spanned up to Invictus
- Cover Version:
- "Valhalla" by Blind Guardian, "The IVth Crusade" by Bolt Thrower, "Black Tears" by Edge of Sanity, and "Whatever That Hurts" by Tiamat are just a small list.
- The deluxe version of Veto feautres covers of "European Super State by Killing Joke and "River Runs Red" by Life Of Agony.
- They covered Powerwolf's "Night of the Werewolves" on that band's Cover Album Communio Luporum.
- Darker and Edgier: Compared to most Metalcore and Melodic Death Metal bands, as their sound borrows a lot from classic deathgrind bands like Terrorizer and early Bolt Thrower.
- Epic Rocking: Several songs of theirs cross the six minute barrier, like "Hunters Will Be Hunted", "A Dying Ember", and "Expatriate".
- Ironically subverted with the "Battlecries" (Liar) cover. The song itself is only 3:23 minutes. with 23 minutes of silence.
- Genre-Busting: "Echoes," "Risandi Von," and "Deyjandi Von" all have Western classical parts, brought to us by Ólafur Arnalds.
- Green Aesop: One of their main lyrical themes. The band is entirely vegan/vegitarian, after all.
- Long-Runner Line-up: Patrick Schleitzer was the only member to ever leave, and be replaced.
- Melodic Death Metal: Along with Metalcore.
- Metalcore: Along with Melodic Death Metal. A far heavier and more metal-influenced example than most.
- Metal Scream: Marcus's vocals run the gamut from angry pterodactyl-like Type 3 screams to guttural Type 2 growls.
- Protest Song: Pretty much every song the band has written, usually focused on vegan, anti-war, anti-fascist, and revolutionary themes.
- Religion Rant Song: Despite the band's name, most of their songs are not about this, although there are a few like "Biogenesis (Undo Creation)" and "You Will Be Godless" that do in fact criticize organized religion directly.
- Soprano and Gravel: Marcus occasionally employs clean vocals for a few songs, such as in "Implore the Darken Sky (classic version)" and in live performances of "Hunters Shall Be Hunted".
- Special Guest: Plenty, these are just some notable ones:
- Sabine Weniger provided guest vocals on "Given in Death" as does Deadlock guitarist Sebastian Reichl doing a guitar solo.
- Mille Petrozza appears on the "Auge Um Auge" cover. The song was actually done by Dritte Wahl.
- The legendary Hansi Kürsch appears on HSB's version of "Valhalla"!
- Marcus himself appears on Caliban's "Storm of Rage".
- George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher appears on "Prey to God".
- They also appear in InExtremo's Flaschenteufel
- War Is Hell: Many songs revolve around this subject. "Combat" is one of the more notable examples with its accompanying music video.
