heaven shall burn

(9/10) My first Heaven Shall Burn moment was "Endzeit". For many years this was, at least for me, one of the best songs the band ever released. "Endzeit" includes this apocalyptic rage, translated into a music experience that was and is outstanding.

2016 is the year that I had to revise this perception. "Wanderer" is a true competition for "Endzeit" since the album, their eighth release, is a terrific one. I even would go that far saying that "Wanderer" is the strongest release of the five-piece. The guys put the hardcore and metalcore a bit aside which, as a counter effect, strengthens the metallic parts on their new longplayer. "Wanderer" became a blistering sonic attack that shows the entire spectrum of Heaven Shall Burn.

"The Loss of Fury" begins silent and harmonic, almost as a kind of embedded intro. But it doesn't take too long before the song turns into a slowly creeping track that's dominated by Marcus Bischoff's vocals and heavy riff by Maik Weichert and Alexander Dietz.

"Bring the War Home" means shifting up at least one gear. It's a highly dynamic metal track that includes some metalcore parts by, in general, moving more towards death metal. The harmonic guitars reminded me partly of Amon Amarth.

A relaxed prelude marks the beginning of "Passage of the Crane" which is the next highlight on the album. Also to mention "Downshifter", a brutal six minutes masterpiece with a perfect mix of anger, despair, power and groove. Very well done I would say.

"Prey to God" instead is the most uncompromissing tune on the album, a song that gets, with it's grunts and growls, very close to pure death metal.

"My Heart is My Compass" is a kind of halftime break before "Save Me" kicks-off the second part of "Wanderer". And in case you have the idea that these songs are less demanding you're wrong. The quality, the power, the message and the brutality continues. Best song on the 'b-side' is "Corium" which comes with a more moderate pace and a true death metal expression. The embedded melodic parts give extra spice to this track.

The end is close whenh the first notes of "The Cry of Mankind" reach your ears and mind. With seven and a half minutes it's by far the longest track on the album. It's a My Dying Bride cover with a guest appearance of Sólstafir's Aòalbjörn Tryggvason who joined Heaven Shall Burn for some vocals. The tune is a dark and progressive one. It has a certain melancholy included, sounds slightly different than most of the tracks and is still 100% Heaven Shall Burn. Some parts of this interpretation made me think of German doom thrasher number one, Undertow. It's the way how the clean vocal parts are arranged which gave me this impression. However, these moments are just a few while the track a slow paced death metal masterpiece that is a champion on an album full of winners.

Also to mention the great artwork, done by photographer Christian Thiele. The contrast and the common features of the visual expression and the musical outburst couldn't be done better. The peaceful calmness of the artwork and the raging energy of the music go together as a statement for the wandering through chaos, change and clarity, finding some more inner peace.

"Wanderer" is big. It's a milestone in German metal, done by a band that belongs to the most important ones these days. Hats off!

(9/10)

Tracklist:

1. The Loss of Fury
2. Bring the War Home
3. Passageof the Crane
4. They Shal Not Pass
5. Downshifter
6. Prey to God
7. My Heart is my Compass
8. Save Me
9. Corium
10. Extermination Order
11. A River of Crimson
12. The Cry of Mankind

Label: Century Media

Genre: Death Metal

Release Date EU: September 23^rd, 2016

(8/10) I was following Deadlock from the "Manifesto" days on. In the beginning I had my issues with the band. For one or another reason I never really found my way into Deadlock's music. This changed during the last years. For me this has mainly to do with the fact, that Deadlock got more and more mature and developed their sound further. They did this without changing their trademarks. Deadlock fine tuned those and brought their sound to a next level. A good example for this was the latest studio release "The arsonist".

"The re-arrival" is now the next record from the German band. The name already gives you a hint about what to expect. "The arrival" was the title of the 2002 debut of the five musicians and the 're-' shows that it is a repetition. But "The re-arrival" is more than just another 'best of...' record. 

In total the album comes with 30 songs. This is really value for money. The record reflects the Lifeforce Records years of the band. The known tracks are re-arranged/re-produced and sound a bit better than the original version, eventhough the difference in my opinion is minor. An interesting fact is the cooperation with Markus Bischoff from Heaven Shall Burn for "Code of honor". His vocal contribution gives the track a real metalcore expression. Nice experiment.

But the album comes with even more. Three tracks are new ones. Deadlock uses those to also introduce their new drummer Werner Riedl. Already "An ocean's monument” shows that Riedl is integrated into the band. The tight drumming and the grooving rhythm section are a clear statement. The song itself is a heavy beast with great growls and even better vocals from singer Sabine Scherer. It's also her voice which kicks-off the second new track called "New era". The song is more melodic than the before mentioned one and the growls are a bit less used. A melodic and heavy song which I think is great. If it marks a 'new era' it will be a successful one too. Last but not least the seven minutes long "The arsenic river" brings again the death metal roots up to surface. It is amazing how easily the growls and the clean vocals harmonize after all these years. I would say ‘never change a winning team’. Beside all the vocals we shouldn't forget the guitars. The riff in this song is a very powerful one and you're facing a wall of guitars in this track. Again the guitars are more anchored in classical heavy metal which is also reflected in the various solo parts too. All in all three cool new tracks from the Germans.

The second CD comes with 15 rare tracks - some are from demo times, unrealeased (acoustic) recordings,... A nice add on for collectors.

"The re-arrival" is a perfect record for everybody who missed releases from the band so far. It gives a good overview on the discography and the history of the band. You can catch up easily. And due to the extras the album is also interesting for every fans and metalheads.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

CD 1 (* new songs , ** re-recordings/-arrangements)

1. An Ocean's Monument (*)
2. Code Of Honor (feat. Marcus Bischoff / HEAVEN SHALL BURN) (**)
3. Earthlings (**)
4. The Brave / Agony Applause (**)
5. Dark Cell (**)
6. Virus Jones (**)
7. A New Era (*)
8. We Shall All Bleed (**)
9. Renegade (**)
10. Martyr To Science (**)
11. Awakened By Sirens 2014 (**)
12. To Where The Skies Are Blue (**)
13. Htrae (**)
14. End Begins (**)
15. The Arsenic River (*)

CD 2:

1. Petition For Mercy  - Insist Demo Tape (1998)
2. Broken Mirror - Insist Demo Tape (1998)
3. What´s The Use - Insist Demo Tape (1998)
4. Face To Face - Insist Demo Tape (1998)
5. Ignorance - Insist Demo Tape (1998)
6. Deprivation  - Insist Demo Tape (1998)
7. The One Who's Silent Seems To Consent - unreleased track from Deadlock 7" (1999)
8. Picture - unreleased track from Deadlock 7" (1999) 
9. A Song Full of Abhorrence in a World Without Feelings… - I'll Wake You When Spring Awakes (EP) (Winter Recordings 2000)
10. With a Smile on My Face - The Arrival (Winter Recordings 2002)
11. The End Of The World - Deadlock / Six Reasons to Kill Split (Winter Recordings 2003)
12. 10.000 Generations In Blood - Earth.Revolt (2005) 
13. When Time Runs Out (Running Wild Cover) - ReUnation Sampler- A Tribute To Running Wild (Remedy Records 2009)
14. Awakened By Sirens - Unreleased Acoustic Version (2011)
15. Earthlings - Bizarro World, Japanese Edition (2011)