Heaven Shall Burn – Veto (Century Media)
German melodic death-metallers Heaven Shall Burn released their seventh studio album this past April. Heaven Shall Burn have always held a special place in my heart due to their sharp, crunchy brand of hardcore-and-melody-infused death metal, their interest in vegetarianism and human rights, and the way they always include cover songs on their albums.
Heaven Shall Burn – Veto (Century Media)
German melodic death-metallers Heaven Shall Burn released their seventh studio album this past April. Heaven Shall Burn have always held a special place in my heart due to their sharp, crunchy brand of hardcore-and-melody-infused death metal, their interest in vegetarianism and human rights, and the way they always include cover songs on their albums. These guys always get lumped in with the metalcore scene, which makes sense, but I feel like it’s important to point out that they’ve been playing music together since 1996 and recorded their first album in 2000. Rather than being products of a trend, they are one of the bands that accidentally started it in the first place by innocently combining their love of hardcore and death metal with their inborn European urge to play a bunch of noodly, pretty-sounding riffs. Who knew that thirteen years later, that’d lead to bands like Asking Alexandria?
Another thing that this band always catches flack for is the notion that throughout their lengthy career, they haven’t undergone much change or growth. And it’s true–all their albums kind of do sound the same. You could switch one chorus out for another on virtually any track and it would hardly be noticeable, and it is a bit painful to realize that in 2013, they sound kind of dated. However, I would argue that they have a few things going for them despite all this. Although the basic structure of most of their songs is the same, they play with a lot of different elements, from electronic producing and acoustic interludes to more straightforward death metal riffs and thrashy, almost grindy parts, in order to make their songs more unique. There is also something to be said for finding your sound and sticking to it; they will never disappoint their diehard fans. They’ve found a formula that works, even if it is a bit trite at times, and they aren’t one of those bands who decide to get totally experimental and weird on the tenth album and end up crashing and burning.
Photo by Axell Jusseit
Overall, Veto is a consistent, yet mediocre, record. In typical Heaven Shall Burn fashion, their lyrics focus a lot on the persecution of the many by the few, as evident in such song titles as “Land of the Upright Ones” and “Like Gods Among Mortals.” The cover features the famous John Collier painting of Lady Godiva, and the intro track, “Godiva,” starts out with a slow acoustic interlude that leads into a melodically sad yet powerful song. From there on out, the album never falters, but there aren’t many standout moments, either. “Fallen” and “You Will Be Godless” boast a slightly more brutal and hard-hitting sound and shake things up a little bit, and their cover of Blind Guardian’s “Valhalla” is pretty epic. As a rule, I can’t stand Blind Guardian or any other operatic metal (it’s one of the few subgenres I will hate on as a unit and not feel too bad), but I have to admit that all the crazy, sweeping solos sound a lot cooler in a Heaven Shall Burn song.
I would check this album out if you’re a longtime Heaven Shall Burn fan and you want to hear more of what you’ve already heard from them. And as far as casual listening or background music goes, Veto is a pleasant album to put on from time to time. But if you’re a new listener looking to immerse yourself in melodic death metal and the roots of metalcore, I would first check out their famous 2004 album, Antigone. Despite their efforts in recent years, that record still stands out in my mind as their best. While Veto may not be a totally wasted effort, it isn’t essential listening and can certainly be passed over in favor of more original material.
