Customer Reviews

Antigone

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have only begun listening to Heaven Shall Burn in the last few months or so, and my first purchse was the "In Battle..." disc, which I enjoyed but would not rate five stars. "Antigone", however, is another matter. On this disc, Heaven Shall Burn manage to combine a number of different metallic and non-metallic elements, yet still produce an album that hits like a ton of bricks. The band experiments with clean vocals, incorporates pianos into some of the songs, and enlists the aid of several guest artists, primarily to create an intro and two outros that are chilling and hauntingly beautiful, punctuated by melancholy violins and pianos. These instrumental pieces provide stark contrast to and give more atmosphere to the otherwise unrelenting barrage of bone-crunching metal. They also give you some time to catch your breath. This is some of the most devastating metal I have heard in a long time, forgoing so many of the niceties of modern metal and going straight for the jugular with all the subtlety of a wild elephant. Most of the songs aren't too fast, but they are full of jaw-dropping hooks, vicious dual-guitar frenzies, and hard-hitting bass drums and cymbal crashes. The singer, Marcus, does not have the stereotypical super-deep death metal voice, but rather he delivers his grim lyrics with a shrill, piercing scream that borders on the edges of human comprehension. The high points on this album for me are "Architects of the Apocalypse" and "Voice of the Voiceless", but really this album has no weaknesses. It doesn't get repetetive and the subject matter is quite varied. I love putting this disc on in my car and cranking the volume full blast and watching the more sensitive souls amongst us cringe at its sheer brutality. I cannot recommend this album highly enough for those who appreciate extreme metal. Raise those devil horns!

I dont know how to explain it because I am still listening to it for the first time and Im speechless. Its that good. You should buy it now regardless of all of these reviewes. The intro alons is awesome and the riffs are crazy. The drumming also sticks out to me. Its really catchy. If you are any type of metal head being it harcore, death metal, numetal...check this out. Some say its hard core but i dont think so. Its more death metal type stuff to me but not srait death metal. Just go buy it now and see for yourself.

ok u didn't listen, i'll keep it short these guys are awesome the meld so many different sounds like every other review has said before me, i hear some at the gates, in flames, soilwok and more, it's funny cause as fast and heavy as the whole damn cd is the intro , and the 2 outro's have to be heard to be believed they are so moving yet dark, i love this cd, my favorite songs are Architects of the Apocolypse, The dream is dead, and Not my god , as well as what i mentioned earlier the intro and outro's. whoeve buys this album will not be let down.

Seriously, this band is beyond words.

There are myriad things to say about what a soaring achievement "Antigone" is, but I'll keep this short and concise.

To put it quite simply, Heaven Shall Burn is the At the Gates for the new millenium. They combine everything that makes the so-called "new wave of American heavy metal" so great, and fuse it with this insanely vicious metalcore sound that gives every song a thundering crunch that just cannot be denied.

"The Weapon They Fear," "Only Truth" and "Voice of the Voiceless" come to mind first as being standouts, but "To Harvest the Storm" is probably the heaviest yet most listenable song on the record. This is the heaviest metalcore album I've ever heard, and yet, somehow, also the most listenable.

"Antigone" is a disc I haven't tired of since the day it came out. And almost a year later, I can still listen to it all day without taking it out of my CD player. Buy it, and you'll see why.

Having heard "The Weapon They Fear" on a metal compliation disc...I immeadiately went out and picked up Antigone....and truthfully it is one of most heartfelt, cathartic, and terrifying works I've ever heard. Now I don't mean terrifying in a goofy Slipknot scary mask way....or a silly pagan way AKA Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, etc....in fact it has nothing to do with their look....(which BTW is just 5 clean cut guys going about their business...no pretense at all)

So where do I get their terrifying sound? First, Mattias Voight's vocal ability is levels above most hardcore frontmen...and his voice is among the most honest. Simply put, if one could give a voice to all those that suffer and are subjugated in the world...it would be Mattias's voice. He sings with rage, pain, sadness, anger...and hope. He makes other metalcore singers look like they are posing...and don't really feel what they are singing about. The chorus on The Weapons They Fear..."Never to be silenced" exemplifies what im trying to clumsily say here.

Combine Mattias's ability with socially-aware, thoughtful lyrics about mankind's obsession with warfare, opression, etc...and that's where you get the terrifying...the terror that can be mankind. If I could sum it up...Heaven Shall Burn's music is like the witnessing the Holocaust without being able to do anything about it. Very angry, full of pain, honest, and never losing a slight glimmer of hope.

The music itself is very much like that of Killswitch Engage...albeit with a darker, more punishing sound...that always retains a sense of melody. If you like K.S.E...the actual instrumentation these guys put out is very similar and you will feel very at home.

The production is also very similar to a K.S.E. album...crunchy clean guitars, tight but booming bass drums, tuned down bass that comes alive at certain parts. Very well balanced (not too much bass, not too much treble) A very well done production.

All in all, a great, and extremely cathartic album...if you want to try something like K.S.E. but want to go harder and more punishing...go for this.

YOU'RE SO GAY THAT YOU WILL HATE THEM JUST CAUSE THEY SUPPORT PETA,I MEAN IF YOU SAW AN ANIMAL GET CHOPED OFF IN PERSON YOU WILL NOT EAT MEAT ANYMORE AND IF YOU DO,WELL THAT'S PRETTY KICK A'S BUT YOU SUCK ANYWAY.ANYWAY FOR THE ALBUM FOR YOU'RE INFO THIS IS JUST BRUTAL AND AMAZING SO DON'T EVEN READ MORE REVIEWS CAUSE IS IS JUST AWESOME METALCORE WITH MELODIC DEATH METAL AND DEATHCORE,WELL DEATHCORE MOSTLY THEIR EARLY STUFF BUT STILL AROUND.SO GET IT YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED THEY ARE AS GOOD AS PEOPLE SAY AND THEIR TWO OTHER ALBUMS AFTER THIS ONE ARE EVEN MORE BRUTAL AND HEAVIER SO LISTEN TO THIS BAND NOW!GERMAN METAL RULES!

The Weapon They Fear is the best metal song i have ever heard... quite simply. and almost single-handedly gets this album a five starc rating, but like most people are saying this album is a bit repetitive in the mid section... the outros are brilliant and attempt to break up the repetition. tracks 3,4,5,6,7,9 and 10 are very similar but since HSB has a unique sound i like them all as they are all similarly catchy in brutality... track 11, The Dream Is Dead, has a slightly different chorus which makes it a fairly unique track in the context of the entire album. the bonus tracks arent all that special but are also very brutal... everything about this album is brutal really except for the outros which give a huge contrast to the rest of the album. Risandi Von (outro), track 8 is unbelievably beautiful.. and im not the kind of person who uses the word beautiful very often.. this outro is very moving and even though its only 1:31, it is a memorable addition to this album... all in all, despite its repitition, this is a great unique and yes BRUTAL album...

I can't say enough about this record. Heaven Shall Burn's "Antigone" is a brutal record with sick vocals and slick guitar riffs to make one of the best CD's of 2004.

"Antigone" by Heaven Shall Burn is, simply put, one of the best melodic death metal CD's to be released in recent years. But don't be misled by the "melodic death" label - this CD is about as heavy as it gets. The sheer power of Heaven Shall Burn leaves their contemporaries (In Flames, Soilwork, and the rest) in the dust. While the afore-mentioned bands are trying to tone down their sound and integrate more harmonic vocalizations into their sound, Heaven Shall Burn exude raw power without the loss of amazing hooks. Think Dark Tranquillity, only less melodic and a lot heavier.

Struturally, the CD "Antigone" itself is nothing special. It has the typical intros and outros as well as song interludes. And while these are good, this type of thing has been done many times. None of that really matters, though, because all of the songs on this CD are brutal and at the same time dynamic and complex. The album starts off heavy and never lets up until the very end. Most of the songs are mid-tempo with some faster moments, but Heaven Shall Burn are not a thrash band - just unrelenting metal. Standout tracks include "Architects Of The Apocalypse", "The Weapon They Fear", "The Dream is Dead". But the song "Numbing the Pain" has to be heard to be believed - simply amazing. This CD is recommended for pure metal and death metal fans. You will not be disappointed.

This has to be one of my all time favorite albums!!! The music is brutal but easy to lose yourself in... especialy the intro and couple of outros. This is my favorite album by HSB. I can listen to it again and again and will never get sick of it. Though as much as I love this band it's not for everyone my fiance really doesn't like them (she's into metal as much as I am so it's not because of the genre) and a clsoe friend of mine likes them but gets annoyed by the vocals, so like I said while I'm obsessed with this band it's not for all!!!