"of truth and sacrifice"
Year: 2020
Country: Germany
City: Thuringia
Label: Century Media
Format: 2 x CD, 2 x LP
Tracks: 19
Time: 97 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Metalcore
Heaven Shall Burn are a German extreme metal band from Saalfeld, formed in 1996. The band consists of vocalist Marcus Bischoff, guitarists Maik Weichert and Alexander Dietz, bassist Eric Bischoff and drummer Christian Bass. They are currently signed to Century Media. They have released eight studio albums, as well as a number of other records. One of their album, Veto, entered the German Album Charts at #2 in 2013, with their latest, Of Truth and Sacrifice reaching number 1.
Heaven Shall Burn's musical style has been described as symphonic, progressive, melodic and modern death metal. "Melodic death metal" (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal. The style originated and developed in Sweden (pioneered by At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames) and the UK (pioneered by Carcass) around 1993. The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularise the style, soon centering in the "Gothenburg metal" scene. Heaven Shall Burn lyrics often express heavy support for anti-racism and anti-fascism. They also have lyrics about atheism, internationalism, resistance, oppression and animal rights. All members are vegans or vegetarians and most follow or followed a straight edge lifestyle.
Discogs ,
Lastfm ,
Download ,
Wikipedia ,
Web ,
Facebook ,
Instagram ,
Twitter ,
Straight Edge ,
"wanderer"
Year: 2016
Label: Century Media
Format: CD, 2 x LP
Tracks: 12
Time: 50 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Metalcore
Discogs ,
Download
"veto"
Year: 2012
Label: Century Media
Format: CD, 2 x LP
Tracks: 11
Time: 50 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Metalcore
Decided to dust off a trivia-filled blog I wrote a few years ago after I was reading the news this morning and listening to a very specific song while commuting to work. Figured I'd share this in time for your commute. Feel free to leave your thoughts and feedback.
On my way to the office this morning I was reading through the daily “5 things” newsletter by CNN. No worries, I wasn’t driving: since I joined ISA a few months ago I usually take the TTC (Toronto’s public transit system, in my case a combination of a short bus ride and a much longer subway trek). The Mueller hearings, Boris Johnson taking over, uproar over Ricardo Rosselló in Puerto Rico, … It’s quite the day. My morning playlist drowns out all other distractions, as another song comes on and provides a fitting soundtrack for today’s news.
“Lady Godiva, when will you ride again?” The Metalcore anthem echoes in my ears as the train thunders on towards Islington station. Save me from the burning, please. No, this song doesn’t muse over the soothing effects of eating Belgian chocolate but makes a modern-day metaphor of one my favourite medieval tales.
Lady Godiva, or Godgifu as the 11th century population of Coventry would have called her, was an Anglo-Saxon lady of noble birth and the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. A place of turmoil and civil war at the time, Mercia covers what is now known as the English Midlands and was rumoured to be a prime location to find coconuts. The migration of coconuts into Mercia to this day remains a mystery as the European swallow could not carry them, and African swallows are non-migratory.
Leofric had one son: Ælfgar, who was an ambitious man. He inherited the titles Lord of Coventry and Earl of the Kingdom in 1057. He unsuccessfully manoeuvred to become King Edward’s puppet master, only to result in his exile from Mercia. This led to a short yet bloody civil war, resulting in the burning of the city of Hereford and the annihilation of its people. In the end the swords were sheathed to allow for a peaceful solution.
Unlike his son Ælfgar, the remaining evidence of Leofric’s life tells the story of a respected leader and a kind and devout Christian. He and his young wife Godgifu, which literally means ‘gift of god’, are credited with founding the monastery at Coventry and donating lands and funds to other houses of God. However... The Flores Historiarum[4], a chronicle written 200 years after Leofric’s death, painted a very different image. In the legend of Lady Godiva, Leofric is a heartless ruler.
With an iron fist, Leofric rules the people of Coventry, who are suffering from his high taxes. The young and beautiful Godiva takes pity on the poor and pleads to her evil husband, begging to stop the taxation. Finally the sadistic Lord promises to lower the taxes if Godiva strips naked and rides through the streets of Coventry. The Lady agrees to this public humiliation but asks the people of the town to stay indoors and close all windows.
Covered in nothing but her hair, Godiva rides through the town as symbol of hope and justice.
There was one person however, a tailor called Tom, who, like all men, had been completely infatuated by the young Lady’s beauty. He had bored a little hole in one of his house’s shutters to watch her pass by. But at the moment he wanted to catch a glimpse of her naked beauty, he was struck blind as punishment for his disobedience. From that point on, he would be known as Peeping Tom.
Leofric was so moved by Godiva’s selfless act, that he kept his word. He lowered the taxes and ruled with a softer touch for the rest of his days.
The Legend tells us a wonderful tale about justice and standing up in a peaceful way for those who are too weak to defend themselves. I almost feel it is a shame there is absolutely no historical base for the story. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that no such action was necessary under the reign of Leofric. History, unfortunately, has seen many ruthless men rise to power, against who symbolic actions were needed. Without humanitarian organisations and worldwide media however, this hardly ever happened. Because it almost seems too unlikely that one of our own – let alone we ourselves – will stand up for us or against injustice, we as humans tend to make up our heroes to do it for us. Whether it is the peaceful Godiva, the outlaw Robin Hood or modern-day Batman, we make up the greatest stories of the (often) lone hero that fights evil and prevails. Unselfish. Unbelievable. Untrue. “Because sometimes the truth isn’t good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.”
This story as we know it was penned down by Roger of Wendover, 2 centuries after Leofric and Godiva ruled Coventry. In his version, the entire town is gathered by the evil Lord and is forced to watch. It was only over time that the world’s most famous voyeur, Peeping Tom, was introduced, ad , adding an additional lesson in morality to the story. So, if the naked ride never happened, where did it come from? A possible origin of the story could come from medieval habit of performing a public penitent procession. It was a custom for sinners and committers of petty crimes to parade through town, wearing nothing but their undergarment or Chemise. This was considered ‘naked.’ George R.R. Martin took it a little more literal when he wrote Cersei Lannister’s famous shame walk in the A Song of Ice and Fire book series.
Like so many Christian habits, the origins of these processions are likely to be found in pagan rituals. Coventry was founded by the Saxons. No one really is sure where the name comes from. One theory suggests it comes from Coven Tre (a mix of Celtic and old English for Convent Town), as the city grew around an 8th century convent. The most accepted theory on the other hand comes from a tree. A tree planted, to mark the centre of the town. This sacred tree was called Coffa’s tree. Details on this Coffa are lost in history, but his name lives on in the city he probably founded. J.R.R. Tolkien used the same symbol for the White Tree of Minas Tirith. In old Coventry, the arrival of spring was celebrated by Pagans with fertility processions, where May Queens dressed in white garments were led to Coffa’s tree.
The legend has inspired many works of art throughout history, but none capture the story as beautifully as the painting by John Collier in the late 19th century. What immediately jumps out is the contrast within the Collier’s masterpiece. Lady Godiva is depicted naked and ashamed. A fragile girl, with her head bowed down. She is clinging on to her cause. This natural beauty, grotesquely stripped from her dignity, is almost losing hope. But she will not fail: her horse is there to guide her on her path. Where the noblewoman’s gown and jewelry are taken away from her, her horse is colourfully decorated. Its head is held high. Confident. Proud. You get the feeling that the horse understands the powerful statement his Amazon rider is making. He will carry her and support her.
Discogs ,
Download
"invictus"
Year: 2010
Label: Century Media
Format: CD, LP, DVD
Tracks: 12
Time: 50 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Metalcore
Discogs ,
Download
"iconoclast"
Year: 2008
Label: Century Media
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 14
Time: 50 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Metalcore
Discogs ,
Download
"antigone"
Year: 2004
Label: Century Media
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 12
Time: 50 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Metalcore
Discogs ,
Download
"in battle... there is no law"
Year: 1998
Label:
Life Force
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 12
Time: 50 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Hardcore
Discogs ,
Download
"dear youth"
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-15224937-1588345242-9345.jpeg.jpg)
