Review and Photography: Stephen Brophy for MPM
It has been a hell of a week for gigs in Dublin’s Academy, and Tuesday was the turn of Heaven Shall Burn, the mighty Germans finally making their first visit to Ireland, and as Marcus was to mention during the set it has been a very long time coming. Along for ther ride tonight are American bands Frozen Soul and The Black Dahlia Murder. Death Metal all the way of one style or another.
Frozen Soul hail from Texas and there is no getting away from it there’s something about this band that just worms into your brain, there’s an awesome groove in the riffs and constant grinding throught, some of the tracks have a very doomy edge to them and for the 2nd time in a couple of days the opening act really impresses, both with me and the crowd in general.
The band have been on the go since 2018 and have constantly progressed through their releases so far, with new album ‘No Place For Warmth’ on it’s way in May and the title track as heard tonight is an absolute monster, more depth than I’ve heard in their other songs it’s a cracker.
Vocalist Chad cuts a very imposing figure, dominating the center of the stage and oddly enough the chainlink mic stand and gauntlets embelish that, but it’s the vocals that really elevate him, a band that is really tight, heavy but at the same time a little bit of solid groove in there, it’s attention grabbing, it sounds great and their set sadly flies in far too quickly.
Very enjoyable and go check these guys out if you don’t know them, you won’t regret it, I’m sure they will be back this way soon.
After all they have gone through as a band the powerhouse that is The Black Dahlia Murder continue to roll on crushing what comes to meet them.
Somehow I haven’t managed to catch the band since their decision to continue was made and Brian stepped into the position as vocalist, so I was happy to be able to catch them again tonight From the moment they hit the stage something that shines though, aside from excellent vocals, is his slightly offbeat sense of humour, it fits with what the band have always had and works on stage tonight.
Musically the band are still right up there and tonights set is filled with tracks that get the pit moving and increasing in size as things move along. Even though the upstairs of the venue is closed tonight there’s a substantial crowd that are lapping up a feast of Melodic Death Metal, with their sound feeling very like it always has.
Still a great band to see live, will look forward to catching them again in the future. ‘Nightbringers’ and ‘Everything Went Black’ really kicked ass tonight.
The headliners are a band that I’ve never seen before in a club show, only at a festival, where they have managed to blow me away with their energy and performance, so it’s been with baited breath that I’ve waited for them to hit these shores. Heaven Shall Burn didn’t come running out or flashy jumping onto the stage, but they absolutely burst everything with ‘War Is The Father Of All’ to open the show, it’s a blinder of a start to a set and the band has the crowd from the first riff..
Oh how I wish the set could have lasted longer, but hey I’m just greedy, it was still brilliant, they still tore the place apart and there was a great energy in the crowd right through the set. As with others I think they have now seen the error of their ways and will see Ireland being added to future tours.
This band crushes it from start to finish, the riffs and rhythm are just spot on, there’s a part ‘Voice Of The Voiceless’ when it hit’s the verse that has massive vibes of The Police, but it fit’s perfectly with the song.
It’s not just the opening few songs, it’s a relentless set with the guys and especially Marcus bounding all around the stage, his vocals are just excellent and there’s nice touches of interaction with the audience, which further endears them to the Irish fans.
What we need now is a quick return and an absolutely full venue when they return. It’s very hard to pick out anything that I didn’t love in this set, personally ‘Armia’ and ‘Thoughts And Prayers’ were just wow.
So many people moving around the venue, be it moshing, dancing, fist pumping or just raising the horns in appreciation, the band seemed to be having a great time too and that all adds up to a great night.
Heaven Shall Burn Setlist –
War Is The Father Of All
Voice Of The Voiceless
My Revocation Of Compliance
Godiva
Counterweight
Armia
Confounder
Black Tears (Edge Of Sanity Cover)
Endzeit
The Martyr’s Blood
Ubermacht
March Of Retribution
Thoughts And Prayers
Tirpitz
Encore –
The Weapon We Fear
