Poids lourd de la scène metal européenne, HEAVEN SHALL BURN revient en 2008 avec "Iconoclast", album largement attendu par les fans. Atteignant bientôt les 10 ans d'existence, il était temps que VS ouvre ses pages au groupe de Thüringen. Entretien avec Maik Weichert.

Heaven Shall Burn is a famous name in the european metal scene now. Can you sum up the band’s history ?
Everything started in 1995 I guess, when we started to play music together and to write the first songs. But I think band histories are boring. Also in our case there wasn't any spectacular to tell. We just started the band as friends and it's still the same. A few line-up changes over the years, but nothing special to talk about…

How do you feel today ? After so many years in the scene, did you see some changement on it ? Have you ever think of doing something different ?
Of course some things change over the years, but for us it's still the same. We're having fun and we don't care too much about the scene or everything that comes along with it. We simply do what we like to don and if there wouldn't be the fun anymore, we would just stop doing it. So as Heaven Shall Burn we will always do the same.

“Iconoclast” is the fifth album. Can you tell us about your evolution since “In Battle There’s No Law”, your first demo?
think it's very hard to talk about the own evolution. That's something other people should judge about. We can't really tell how we developed.
Of course, over the years we got better musicians, but I think that the music mostly changed because we're also getting more influences when time is just passing by. You get to know new or different bands and they all have an impact to the way you write your songs. I think that basically we still do the same stuff as for our first MCD, but there some changes here and there. Now we are also able to do some things we haven't been able to do before. After so many years it's easier for us to play everything the way we like it to sound. We don't have to do as many compromises as in the beginning.

Many people sticked your band as “Metalcore” but your music is far more than that. Do you agree with this appellation? What are your opinion on the Metalcore scene, especially in Germany where the style is still in fervent activity ?
I don't think that there is something like a real Metalcore scene. To have a scene, you really need to have a working underground and that's what's missing in ''Metalcore'' nowadays. Most bands just start to play this kind of music because they want to be on a cool label and they wanna play big tours and shows. There is no real scene, because that ''Metalcore''-term nowadays is just something used by the press to sort in any heavy and modern sounding band. There are many bands that can be labeled as ''Metalcore'' music wise, but all the bands have nothing in common. They don't share equal beliefs or ideals. They have nothing in common besides the music maybe. That's no scene for me.
I think that we play some kind of ''Metalcore''. We have metal and we have HC in our music. It's just that right now there are too many bands labeled as ''Metalcore'' and it doesn't really describe the style anymore…
Actually I think that all this genre names are way overrated. No one needs them, because they don't tell you anything about the actual style. Sometimes a metal band is labeled as ''Metalcore'', just because they're not dressed up like the usual death metal guy. I think it doesn't make sense to use such genre description. Not anymore…

our success is really impressive. How can you explain why the band is famous, everywhere in Europe ?
Seriously, I don't know why. We didn't create anything new. We just play the music that we love and that was played by many bands before. Maybe it's the mix of all the different bands that makes it special somehow. Maybe it's also that people see us as some authentic band. There are not that many nowadays and so I think people appreciate that. That might be a reason as well…

Almost all the members of Heaven Shall Burn are Straight Edge and Vegan. The movement is important in the USA but shyier in Europe. What’s your point of view about SxE and Veganism in Europe ? Do you think that the lifestyle can really have the same influ
All of us are vegan and 4 of us are Straight Edge as well.
It might have been like this in the mid 90ies, but right now, no one in the US gives a shit about Vegan Straight Edge anymore. It doesn't have any influence there. There might be some kids who are living that way, but they come and go….sure, some stay, but whether it's in Europe or in the USA, most people live like that just for a short period of time.
I think in Europe the whole thing is still bigger than anywhere else. It's cool to see new kids thinking about a healthier and more conscious way of life, but you never know if it's just for a year or two….if it's just a trend.
Most of us are Straight Edge and vegan for more than 10 years now and we don't think too much about it anymore. We made our decision many years ago and we don't even think about the reasons anymore. To us Veganism just is the logical step that you have to do when you take a closer look to the meat and dairy industry.
No one can tell me that it's ''natural'' or that human being are just on the top of the food chain. That's bullshit…plain and simple. I'm also not in the mood anymore to discuss and to convince people. Most people know the facts, but at the same time they're pushing the thoughts away. They don't wanna think about what's on their plate, because they know it's disgusting and it's a product of murderer, torture, pain and the destruction of mother earth.

This lifestyle is important for you. How did you discover it and why did you adopt it ?
As I said before, I'm Vegan Straight Edge and I will keep on living this way. I just gave up talking to people about that, unless they really show interest.
Everyone knows that drugs, alcohol and cigarettes are nothing good for you body. Everyone knows how meat and other animal products are being produced. It's not that it's a secret or anything. The people that still deny the facts, shouldn't talk to me about that issue. Everyone knows about the truth…
I started being a vegetarian first and I was still eating eggs and drinking milk. Since I was vegetarian, I just got some books about vegetarianism and later about animal rights. I just discovered that milk and dead meat is basically the same when it comes to the suffering of the encaged animals. If you say ''Meat Is Murder'', you can't still drink milk, eat eggs or wear leather. It's all based on the exploitation of animals.

You’re covering “Black Tears” of Edge Sanity. What are your relations with them and why taking this song especially ?
EOS always had been an influence for HSB. ''Purgatory Afterglow'' is one of our all-time favorites and ''Black Tears'' was some untypical song. We wouldn't dare to cover any of EOS's Death Metal classics…hehehe
We just thought we could make the song more aggressive and that it would be a cool song to be placed in the middle of the album…to refresh the record between all the HSB songs.

The lyrics are very important in HSB. Can you describe around what main theme are turning the lyrics?
There is no main theme. We would like the people to read our lyrics first, before asking what it's all about. If there is one main message that we have, it would be to make people think. We don't want them to adopt our point of view. That's why it's better to read the lyrics and think about them. The discussion should just happen after that.

You made many gigs in France. How can you describe the audience ? Can you compare it to the other countries ?
Until now we only did one show in France. So I can only tell you about this one show and I can tell you that it was very nice. We played on some boat in Paris and had a very good time. I don't think that it's easy to judge about the audience of a country just after one show…plus there are also differences between an audience in Paris and the audience in Marseille for example, just as the crowd in Hamburg is different than the one in Cologne.

Do you know some French bands ?
Yeah, of course. You got many good bands there. A few would be Kickback, Drowning, Gojira and that Death Metal bands Loudblast and Massacra.
When we played in Paris, we also played with a band called Monsieur Po. Very good! There is also a Vegan Straight Edge band from France, called Absone. We all love them! I'm just not sure if there are still around.
I'm sure I forgot some bands now;)

Thanks for answering! As usual in an interview, the last words to our readers is yours
Thank you for the Interview! We only played one show in France until now, but there will be more to come very, very soon. So check www.myspace.com/officialheavenshallburn for the dates. if they're not up there right now, they will be up very soon!