HEAVEN SHALL BURN's music video for the song "My Heart And The Ocean" can be seen below. The track is taken from the German band's upcoming album, "Of Truth And Sacrifice", which will be released on March 20 via Century Media Records.
Guitarist Maik Weichert states about the song and video: "The destruction of the oceans rarely happens right in front of us, but secretly in the middle of nowhere. We have been supporting Sea Shepherd for a very long time already and have made many friends and partners in this organization that it striving against the aforementioned destruction. It was important to us that active members as well as veterans are a part of the video. People need to understand that these activists are no outlaws and untouchable heroes, but ordinary girls and boys coming right from the middles of our societies, people who have decided to make a change and fight for their ideals. Everybody can support a good cause and a fair battle. It doesn't matter which nationality, skin colour or background you have — it's about the world we all live in. If the oceans die, it will mean our end as well."
On "Of Truth and Sacrifice", you can look forward to HEAVEN SHALL BURN's trademark sound, more unusual tunes and atmospheric strings that the band fleshed out with Sven Helbig and recorded with conductor Wilhelm Keitel in Minsk. On top of roughly 100 minutes of music on the regular album, the limited editions come with an 80-minute documentary, "Mein Grünes Herz In Dunklen Zeiten" ("My Green Heart In Dark Times"), by renowned producer Ingo Schmoll, who followed the band for almost a year in order to get to the bottom of the HEAVEN SHALL BURN phenomenon.
You can watch "Mein Grünes Herz In Dunklen Zeiten" in German and Austrian cinemas on February 19, with a special pre-premier on February 18 in Leipzig.
Instead of getting stuck in the ever-grueling cycle of studio recordings, album releases and touring, the members of HEAVEN SHALL BURN allowed themselves a well-deserved break. While taking the time off, the members recharged their batteries and gathered new influences and ideas.
Weichert explains: "We decided that one album wasn't good enough, but we wanted to create a double album as a statement. Our goal was a total work of art that people could dive into, something that leaves a lot of room for surprises and experiments. It was only fair to give our fans twice as much after letting them wait for so long."
Conceptually, "Of Truth And Sacrifice" is split into two halves: "of truth" and "of sacrifice". Weichert adds: "The title is exploring the idea of truth and the question what kind of sacrifices you are willing to make for it. Something reflected in the artwork: A warrioress is shielding her child with her own body. While the mother is representing the willingness to sacrifice the child is standing for truth." The original artwork courtesy of Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH, SODOM) is a triptych showing the mother as a child and her son as a grown-up. "It's a title that refers to numerous current developments: people's blindness in daily life and the unwillingness to make any sacrifices in order to bring about change. Still, there are many people in this world who do exactly this: teachers in Africa risking their lives in order to be able to educate children, journalists and whistleblowers who are putting their own safety at risk in order to flag things going wrong."
Track listing:
CD1
01. March Of Retribution
02. Thoughts And Prayers
03. Eradicate
04. Protector
05. Übermacht
06. My Heart And The Ocean
07. Expatriate
08. What War Means
09. Terminate The Unconcern
10. The Ashes Of My Enemies
CD2
01. Children Of A Lesser God
02. La Résistance
03. The Sorrows Of Victory
04. Stateless
05. Tirpitz
06. Truther
07. Critical Mass
08. Eagles Among Vultures
09. Weakness Leaving My Heart
HEAVEN SHALL BURN is:
Guitar: Maik Weichert
Bass: Eric Bischoff
Guitar: Alexander Dietz
Vocals: Marcus Bischoff
Drums: Christian Bass
