Review Summary: Let's put it simple: this is the best Heaven Shall Burn to date. Period.
"We are the final ones. We are the final resistance!" That is
Heaven Shall Burn anno 2008, and one might think, harder and more direct than ever before. The Intro
'Awoken' with it's melancholic string and piano arrangements combined with the opener
'Endzeit' is an uncompromising start into the album and give it a quite epic touch at the same time. And also a good introduction into the story spanning the whole album, as
'Iconoclast' tells the story of the Iconoclasts, a warrior caste destinied to judge and kill the murderers of god. Though the album has somewhat of a concept behind it, the individual songs can clearly be linked to current events in the world. Song titles like
'The Bombs Of My Saviours' speak quite clearly for themselves. This is
Heaven Shall Burn as you know it, not afraid to make political statements and comment on social issues.
On the musical side some things have changed since
'Deaf To Our Prayers'. While the precessor was a straight development of the foundation that was built with
'Antigone',
'Iconoclast' pursues some different and new ways. But without any chance of doubt that this is 100% and unmistakingly a
Heaven Shall Burn record. The songs seem overall more rythm orientated, including some suprising drum parts.
'Murderer Of All Murderers', as one example, features a real dancebeat that would fit well in electronica as well. Pretty weird in the death metal and hardcore context of the band. But as unusual as it sounds at first, it turns out to be a really interesting style piece and quite fitting aspect of the song. Overall
Matthias Voigt plays very accentuated, which the more "mellow" parts of
'A Dying Ember' show. The guitars offer some new treats as well, as
Maik Weichert und
Alexander Dietz play some very melodic and hymn-like riffs, that have also a slight epic touch. This is a nice contrast to the hard main riffs of most songs. Sometimes, the melodies suffer from the overall mix of the album. Some details seem to drown in mix here and there, the bass playing of
Eric Bischoff harder to spot than ever. This is quite sad as the general mix is fitting the songs well. Regarding the vocals some will complain that they are just as always. But to be honest, the shouts of
Marcus Bischoff are as suiting as always, and complement the songs perfectly. Just what you would expect here.
No major points to criticise here. The small problems regarding the sound are forgotten quite fast, as the sound is just right and suiting for the album. The album comes in just about two minutes short of a whole hour play time, but does not get boring to the end. This is for sure: with
'Iconoclast' the boys from Saalfeld present an album others will be compared to. National and international. Regarding metalcore with Goteborg death metal touch, few can match this band. Already thirsting for more? Be happy, the subtitle
"Part One: The Final Resistance" hints towards a (hopefully) soon arriving second part.
