Heaven Shall Burn

Heaven Shall Burn is a German extreme metal group from Saalfeld, Germany, active since 1996. The band plays death metal, deathcore, melodic death metal and metalcore, and its line-up includes Marcus Bischoff on vocals, Maik Weichert and Alexander Dietz on guitars, Eric Bischoff on bass, Christian Bass on drums, and Matthias Voigt among the members listed for the group.

Formation and early releases

The group begins under the name Before The Fall, formed by Maik Weichert and drummer Matthias Voigt. After initial live shows, it changes name to Consense and records its first demo, The Eve of the Storm, in 1997. Marcus Bischoff and Eric Bischoff join in 1998 and help the band secure a contract with Deeds of Revolution Records. Before releasing its debut EP In Battle... in 1998, the band adopts the name Heaven Shall Burn.

A split release with Fall of Serenity follows in 1999. Around the same period, Michael Hartmann leaves and Patrick Schleitzer joins the group. After signing to Lifeforce Records, Heaven Shall Burn releases its debut album Asunder and its first collaboration with Caliban, The Split Program, in 2000.

Albums, tours and chart success

The band releases Whatever It May Take in 2002 and reissues the In Battle... EP. It tours in several countries, including Greece, Iceland and the UK, and appears at festivals such as Party.San, With Full Force and Wacken Open Air. After signing with Century Media in 2004, Heaven Shall Burn releases Antigone, with the LP version issued by Lifeforce Records. The band also films a video for “The Weapon They Fear” and tours Europe with Maroon.

Following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the group releases the charity split single Tsunami Benefit with Napalm Death and The Haunted. In 2005 it releases The Split Program II with Caliban. Patrick Schleitzer then leaves and Alexander Dietz joins on guitar. Deaf to Our Prayers follows in 2006, and “Counterweight” enters the German album charts at number 65. The band plays Summer Breeze Open Air, heads the Hell on Earth Tour with Cataract, Maroon and God Forbid, and co-headlines a tour with Caliban in Germany and Belgium.

In 2007, Heaven Shall Burn releases a remixed version of Whatever It May Take, which includes the acoustic track “io.” It begins work on Iconoclast (Part 1: The Final Resistance), released in 2008 and led by the single “Endzeit.” The band tours Europe and North America with Aborted, Misery Speaks, Embrace the End and The Ghost Inside, and marks its 10th anniversary in Vienna; the show is recorded for the DVD Bildersturm – Iconoclast II (The Visual Resistance).

The third part of the Iconoclast trilogy, Invictus (Iconoclast III), appears in 2010 and reaches number 9 on the German album charts. In 2011, the band co-headlines a European tour with As I Lay Dying and tours South America.

Later career

In 2012, Heaven Shall Burn plays the Australian Soundwave Festival, tours Southeast Asia and joins the Impericon Progression Tour with Unearth, Neaera, Suffokate, Rise to Remain, Malefice and Adept. The band marks its 15th anniversary with a show in Saalfeld. In 2013, it releases Veto, supported by videos for “Hunters Will Be Hunted” and “Godiva”; the album reaches number 2 in Germany. The group tours Europe with Hypocrisy, Dying Fetus and Bleed from Within, and in 2014 tours South America with Parkway Drive while also appearing at Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Wacken Open Air, Deichbrand and Summer Breeze Open Air.

In 2015, Heaven Shall Burn sponsors FC Carl Zeiss Jena’s football kits as part of the “Support Your Local Team” initiative. The band releases Wanderer in 2016, with the singles “Downshifter” and “Bring the War Home.” Its ninth studio album, Of Truth and Sacrifice, appears as a double album in 2020, with a deluxe edition that includes the film Mein grünes Herz in dunklen Zeiten (“My green heart in dark times”). The album’s singles include “Protector,” “Weakness Leaving My Heart” and “My Heart and the Ocean.”

Style and themes

Heaven Shall Burn’s lyrics often address anti-racism, anti-fascism, resistance, oppression and animal rights. All members are vegan or vegetarian, and most follow or have followed a straight edge lifestyle.

The group’s studio albums are Asunder, Whatever It May Take, Antigone, Deaf to Our Prayers, Iconoclast (Part 1: The Final Resistance), Invictus (Iconoclast III), Veto, Wanderer, Of Truth and Sacrifice and Heimat.