Over the past 15 years, HEAVEN SHALL BURN have continued to evolve into a auditory monster that cannot be pigeonholed into any specific genre and where other bands show signs of easing back on their aggression, HEAVEN SHALL BURN do the exact opposite and continue to focus their attack, while remaining steadfast about bringing to light social and ecological injustices through their lyrical content. HEAVEN SHALL BURN have always strived to inspire the listener to educate themselves about injustices of the past as well as current issues while leading the charge towards a more socially und ecologically aware and positive lifestyle. They show no sign of compromise with their latest offering which is entitled “VETO”, which offers up 11 songs of unyielding heaviness, lyrical mastery and social commentary.

Production and engineering duties for “VETO” were handled by the band’s guitarist, Alexander Dietz at Chemical Burn Studios in Bad Kösen, Germany. Mixing was controlled by Tue Madsen at Antfarm Studio in Aabyhøj, Denmark. HEAVEN SHALL BURN felt that after working with Tue Madsen on all releases since 2004 (with the exception of “Deaf To Our Prayers”) having him work on “VETO” was the natural choice.

Guitarist Maik Weichert comments about the sonics of “VETO”: “We listened carefully to some of the feedback we received for our previous albums and worked hard on improving our sound. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean just cranking up the volume, but using more dynamics. Tue had recommended this for a long time, but we finally also listened to him and are more than happy with the result.”

While laying down the track, “Land Of The Upright Ones,” guitarists of the German Thrash Metal band, Macbeth, shredded through a set of guest guitar solos, while Rob Franssen and Dominik Stammen of Born From Pain belted out guest vocals for “Die Stürme rufen Dich”. The cover of “Valhalla”, which pays homage to Blind Guardian, was even supported by Hansi Kürsch himself singing several lines. Maik Weichert about “Valhalla”: “The song is heavy, yet melodic – it’s a hymn for eternity. We never had as much fun with a cover.”

Since lyrical themes are as important to HEAVEN SHALL BURN as the music itself, please find a breakdown of the ideology and message behind each individual track on “VETO” below by Maik Weichert:

“Godiva“:

“It is one of our most melodic songs, it is taking the legend of Lady Godiva to our times.”

“Land of the Upright Ones”:

“The song is dedicated to Thomas Sankara, a relatively unknown revolutionary whose fate is closely linked to Burkina Faso which can be translated to "Land of upright/honest people" or "Land of honest people". It’s a very heavy track.”

“Die Stürme Rufen Dich”:

“The song title was influenced by a song by Victor Jara. His legacy runs like a red line through our albums.”

“Fallen”:

“Once protest against a regime infects the masses the authorities usually react with violence and terror. In that very moment democracy, freedom and equality are worth nothing.”

“Hunters Will Be Hunted”:

“The track is the most epic song on the album and shows our support for Sea Shepherd. It’s also our statement against all complex driven hobby hunters who cannot stand the beauty and grace of an animal compared to his own existence and feels the urge to kill it.”

“You Will Be Godless”:

“It’s almost a tradition that the heaviest song on the album is a reckoning with organized religion, especially the Catholic Church. It’s inhumanity and the ivory tower it exists in is sickening. ‘Follow them and godless you will be.‘”

“Valhalla“:

See above

“Antagonized“:

“It is a song dedicated to Walter Schilling. On the contrary to the people we are talking about in ‘You Will Be Godless’ he was an admirable Christian and theologian in the DDR. He offered alternative adolescents a refugee in his church.”

“Like Gods Among Mortals”:

“You cannot deny certain influences from our all-time favorite band Bolt Thrower in this track that is dealing with the arrogance of politics when it comes to arms business.”

“53 Nations”:

“The song is about the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War on the eve of World War II. Today hardly anybody remembers the brave soldiers coming from 53 counties, including Germany. They set against the fascist putschists around Franco and were fighting for the Spanish Republic and freedom. It turned out that this was already about the destiny of the whole world.”

“Beyond Redemption“:

”It is more or less an instrumental broken up by some lyrics. We feel it’s a nice ending for the album and also a proof for us being able to strike some softer tunes.”

The cover of “VETO” shows the John Collier painting of Lady Godiva, (c.1898). Maik Weichert comments as to why this piece of art represents the underlying concept of the album:

“It works as an icon regarding the fight for social justice. The image also represents a contemporary issue: i.e. today’s leading class being isolated from the people and the conflicts arising from that. It is also a great way to show our fans how current problems and topics can be reflected and derived from historical artworks."