Review by JD on December 14, 2009.

German metallists Heaven Shall Burn seem to be on the lips of many metallers for a while now... and I now have their 2006 release "Deaf To Our Prayers" to see what the big stink is about.

From the first pummelling riff of the opening track, Heaven Shall Burn takes no prisoners here. They come across as this brutal mix of sheer Thrash, manic Death, Hardcore Punk inspired music that has some shadings of Nu-Metal as well. Each part seems to emphasise the other parts equally... and does seem to be out to take your head off in one fell swoop, but it does have a couple of drawbacks that stops the juggernaut cold.

The vocals are... well... too predicable. They are delivered well, that is not the problem... they never stand out as original. It is all angst and aggression, but has no real substance to keep anyone interested. Musically, they have enough twists and turns to make the album more than just simply interested... but the all too cliché blow-torch-in-the-throat vocals are way over the top making it feel like the singer does not to fit the band as a whole.

Lyrically, they have some seriously interesting things going on, but the vocals are a huge setback for them. Things may have changed since the release of this album, I will have a closer look later on, but for now...seems like HSB is stuck in second gear and has no way of getting out of it any time soon. So close, yet so far... I am disappointed.

Categorical Rating Breakdown　

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 7.5
Production: 7
Originality: 5.5 (vocals hurt this rating)
Overall: 7

Rating: 7 out of 10