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Heaven Shall Burn - Invictus (Part III: The Final Resistance) review



Reviewer:
8.3

131 users:
7.73
Band: Heaven Shall Burn
Album: Invictus (Part III: The Final Resistance)
Release date: May 2010


Disc I
01. Intro
02. The Omen
03. Combat
04. I Was I Am I Shall Be
05. Buried In Forgotten Grounds
06. Sevastopoll
07. The Lie You Bleed For
08. Return To Sanity
09. Against Bridge Burners
10. Of Forsaken Poets
11. Nowhere [Therapy? cover] [bonus]
12. Given In Death
13. Outro

Disc II [DVD] [Defending Sparta - Live In Vienna]
01. Forlorn Skies
02. Counterweight
03. Voice Of The Voiceless
04. Endzeit
05. Buried In Forgotten Grounds
06. The Disease
07. Architects Of The Apocalypse
08. The Omen
09. Unleash Enlightenment
10. Of No Avail
11. Black Tears [Edge Of Sanity cover]
12. Behind A Wall Of Silence

Ah? Metalcore. A genre we all love to bash about to show how superior we are. Or not. My dear reader, if you can just take off those glasses clouded by stereotypes for the moment.

This is death-infused metalcore we are talking about, folks! Devoid of those good cop, bad cop vocals, Heaven Shall Burn is actually more brutal than the majority of metalcore bands and modern Gothenburg acts that seems to have a loyal following. The riffs here blaze like an inferno with melody and the vocals by long time member Marcus Bischoff come across as extremely angry while Matthias Voigt attacks the drum kit relentlessly, just the way metalcore is meant to be. Breakdowns for the sake of breaking down are absent, it's straightforward face melting hammering all the way. Wait? not all the way. Invictus does know the term "slow down", such as in "Buried In Forgotten Grounds" which is a piano interlude and when the onslaught begins again it just feels that much heavier. Or take it to another level where "Combat" features some trance beats. Bet you didn't expect that, did you? As a result, each song has been given an identity of its own rather than letting all of them sound too similar. Admittedly, it's not the most successful attempt and some flow has been sacrificed at certain places but it certainly is better than a lot of others out there. Throw in guest appearances of band members from Deadlock in the last track (excluding the outro), Heaven Shall Burn actually surprised me a little.

The end product is an album with quite a considerable number of moments. Major pitfalls so often associated with this genre have been avoided, but there are still some kinks that need to be ironed out, such as the Therapy? cover which sounds extremely sugary relative to all the other tracks, and more work is needed in the song writing department to further develop each song's identity without compromising on flow and aggression. They are, however, very much in the right direction and this is still a fine piece of head banging material.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 6
Production: 9

Written by Ag Fox | 26.08.2010




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 15   Visited by: 82 users
26.08.2010 - 07:49
Edmund Fogg

Nice review.I'll check it out.Heaven Shall Burn is one of those few gems that makes Metalcore a genre worth listening to
----
You cannot sedate all the things you hate - MM
The Observer is the source of reality - Bloom
God damn it!! What did Diddy didn't do? - Satan
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26.08.2010 - 13:40
Rating: 9
albatros

The review sums up my own impressions. I love the power and the melodies. Wonderful to be heard outdoors, be it on a bicycle or in a car while riding through a remote area.
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26.08.2010 - 15:00
Rating: 9
Ag Fox
Angel No More
Written by Edmund Fogg on 26.08.2010 at 07:49

Nice review.I'll check it out.Heaven Shall Burn is one of those few gems that makes Metalcore a genre worth listening to

Thank you! Let me know what you think of the music when you get the chance (=

Written by albatros on 26.08.2010 at 13:40

The review sums up my own impressions. I love the power and the melodies. Wonderful to be heard outdoors, be it on a bicycle or in a car while riding through a remote area.

Haha, I do not have a boom box
----
loves 小巫
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26.08.2010 - 22:23
K✞ulu
Seeker of Truth
Nice review indeed. I listened to their previous album and didn't really like it. I guess I will check this out as a "what if" album.
----
Savor what you feel and what you see
Things that may not seem important now
But may be tomorrow

R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner

Satan was a Backstreet Boy
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26.08.2010 - 23:18
Rating: 9
Ag Fox
Angel No More
Written by K✞ulu on 26.08.2010 at 22:23

Nice review indeed. I listened to their previous album and didn't really like it. I guess I will check this out as a "what if" album.

Cheers <:
I did not really like their previous one either apart from the first track because it was very samey. But as I said in the review, individual songs have more identity now, so you might like it more.
----
loves 小巫
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28.08.2010 - 09:18
Edmund Fogg

Yuppe gave it a spin and I have a feeling it's gonna stay in my mp3 for quite some time now.The anger displayed there is so raw it makes me want to see how they deliver that live.And finally Metalcore with song structures that actually flows well haha
----
You cannot sedate all the things you hate - MM
The Observer is the source of reality - Bloom
God damn it!! What did Diddy didn't do? - Satan
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11.10.2010 - 15:14
Lovecraft
Account deleted
This album is very enjoyable, and this review pretty much sums up my thoughts about it. Nice review.
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11.10.2010 - 15:19
RavenKing

Strange to see another album titled "Invictus".
----
They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink
They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end
But everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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04.01.2012 - 04:49
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Written by RavenKing on 11.10.2010 at 15:19

Strange to see another album titled "Invictus".

not really.
----
14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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04.01.2012 - 05:21
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Boxcar Willy on 04.01.2012 at 04:49
not really.

He's probably used to seeing the Virgin Steele release...

Necronomicon have a new one coming out this year called Invictus.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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04.01.2012 - 05:26
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Written by Troy Killjoy on 04.01.2012 at 05:21

Written by Boxcar Willy on 04.01.2012 at 04:49
not really.

He's probably used to seeing the Virgin Steele release...

Necronomicon have a new one coming out this year called Invictus.

TBH, I thought there was more than the three
----
14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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04.01.2012 - 05:28
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Boxcar Willy on 04.01.2012 at 05:26
TBH, I thought there was more than the three

Oh there's probably a ton, and some with variations of the spelling as well (Inviktus, Inviktvs).

This is probably one of the few metalcore bands I could stomach these days. Not that I wanna test my theory any time soon.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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04.01.2012 - 05:30
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Written by Troy Killjoy on 04.01.2012 at 05:28

Written by Boxcar Willy on 04.01.2012 at 05:26
TBH, I thought there was more than the three

Oh there's probably a ton, and some with variations of the spelling as well (Inviktus, Inviktvs).

This is probably one of the few metalcore bands I could stomach these days. Not that I wanna test my theory any time soon.



it's a start.
----
14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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04.01.2012 - 13:24
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Written by Troy Killjoy on 04.01.2012 at 05:28
This is probably one of the few metalcore bands I could stomach these days. Not that I wanna test my theory any time soon.


I really enjoy this band, seem to be one of the few that really know how to get shit done the way it's supposed to be in the Metalcore genre.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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04.01.2012 - 20:39
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by X-Ray Rod on 04.01.2012 at 13:24
I really enjoy this band, seem to be one of the few that really know how to get shit done the way it's supposed to be in the Metalcore genre.

They covered Tiamat's "Whatever That Hurts", and - at the risk of losing more kvlt points - I personally enjoyed their version more than the original.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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