![]() Across Of Truth and Sacrifice, the Germans violently vent their vexations. From “Thoughts and Prayers” and “What War Means” to “Children of a Lesser God” and “Übermacht,” HEAVEN SHALL BURN posited missives of incredulity, alienation, disconcertment, and angst. To correct course, “sacrifice” will be needed to ensure victory over the dimming and dumbing down of humankind. There is no progress in the degeneration of humanity’s capacity to think independently, to understand facts, to transform facts into knowledge, and to cement knowledge into wisdom, and, in turn, translate wisdom into action. The fact that our world is slowly sliding backward is even more terrible. The hypocrisy of “truth” in the modern era, whether spread through social media or by leaders of the free world, is unbearable to behold. It felt great and natural to bring this record to life.”Ĭonceptually, Of Truth and Sacrifice is very personal to HEAVEN SHALL BURN. I think this approach is even more obvious on Of Truth and Sacrifice. We’ve always tried to be a musical Theatrum Mundi, mixing and showing all our influences. I think Of Truth and Sacrifice is a lot more emotional in many ways, more aggressive, more passionate, more determined, but also more melancholic and more relaxed. If it’s the peak-or still on the rise or already descending in quality-is not something I have to think about. Without these records, Of Truth and Sacrifice would not exist. “I guess VETO and Wanderer are important and relatable forerunners to Of Truth and Sacrifice. “ Of Truth and Sacrifice is a lot more diverse,” says Weichert. Surprisingly, the songwriting effort took longer than usual but went forward without a hitch. The songwriting team-of which Weichert is an integral part-rifled riff after riff and song after song, with “Children of a Lesser God” emerging as the first complete song. The heaviness and vibrancy of the cover sparked a whirlwind of creativity. HEAVEN SHALL BURN kept their cover of Nuclear Assault’s “Critical Mass,” including it near the end of “Of Sacrifice,” because it felt right in the context of Of Truth and Sacrifice. Since forming in 1997, this is how the songwriting process has typically set off. With the concept nailed down, the Thuringia-based quintet rolled out the cover songs to get the energy right. The HEAVEN SHALL BURN primaries had to discuss the complexities of “truth” in an era of “fake news,” the burden to “sacrifice” oneself to get to the “truth,” and how the two concepts are related not lexically but in modern life. Working on this record without any deadline was a great feeling of freedom.”Īs for how Of Truth and Sacrifice started, the title and concept were first. Some bands start songwriting with a release date in mind. Maybe we’re a bit ‘slower?’ Regarding music, these mechanisms kill creativity and real emotion, so we just wanted to approach our new record without having to be prepared for a tour or a festival run. “We have always refused to be part of these mechanisms, but still, we have to follow these things. “We had a feeling that it was about time to leave the music biz rat race for a while,” Maik Weichert, founding member/guitarist, says. Split between two halves-”Of Truth” and “Of Sacrifice,” respectively- Of Truth and Sacrifice is HEAVEN SHALL BURN at their most intense, insightful, and adventurous. And so, without bookers, managers, and label reps in their ear, HEAVEN SHALL BURN set out on a nearly four-year journey to capture their aggression, their hopes, and to realize two full-length albums as powerful in song as they are illuminating on message. By bringing in composer Sven Helbig (Rammstein, Pet Shop Boys) and renowned conductor Wilhelm Keitel, HEAVEN SHALL BURN added a string section to their formidable sound. To accomplish their vision, they pulled back from “the cycle”-writing, recording, touring, repeat-to focus solely on the songs and the message that would eventually comprise Of Truth and Sacrifice. Titled, Of Truth and Sacrifice, and featuring 19 tracks covering 97-minutes of runtime, the Germans needed to get this out of their system. Indeed, the follow-up to 2016’s celebrated Wanderer full-length is a double album. Then, again most groups aren’t German extreme metal masters HEAVEN SHALL BURN. Most bands don’t have the creative capital to embark on, let alone finish a cogently defined double album.
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