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Track Listing: Intro The Omen Combat I Was I Am I Shall Be Buried in Forgotten Grounds Sevastopol The Lie You Bleed For Return to Sanity Against Bridge Burners Of Forsaken Poets Nowhere Given in Death Outro

The latest release from German Melodic-Death Metal stars Heaven Shall Burn, Invictus, is the band's sixth studio album, as well as the final album in the Iconoclast trilogy. This album is a thunderous epic, with top notch musicianship.

The album opens with a wonderfully orchestrated introduction which transitions into "The Omen". The Omen begins with a slow chug riff and gnarly snarls. The song transitions into pure madness with heavy, super fast-paced drum work, insane drop tuned guitars, and absolutely brutal, snarling vocals. The guitar work is very steady, in perfect harmony, and the drums are insane. The bass is thick, heavy, and melodious. This song is really a work of art. It is the very essence of Melodic-Death Metal. It's not unnecessarily repetitive, it's very well orchestrated, methodical, with substance and integrity. What really stands out is the drum work. There is a certain aspect of beauty to the drums on this song. Matthias Voigt really has great control on his drumming.

The following track, "Combat" is another epic track. It opens with full force, no bullshit, no introduction. Everything on this song screams METAL. Everything is incredibly fast on this track. The guitar work is phenomenal on this track. The riffs are incredibly fast, but very coherent. The drums are the audio equivalent of being kicked square in the groin, and the bass keeps everything going on the low-end. The guitar work really sticks out on this song. The more melodic bits of the song really blow me away with how perfectly they fit the song. The tremolo picking, the heavy riffage, it's all one big recipe for a pure metal salad. A truly great track.

The ending track, "Given in Death" really shows Heaven Shall Burn's softer side. It opens with beautiful clean guitar work, with very light effects, and transitions into a harder sound with Sabine Weniger's amazing vocals to add a layer of intimacy and beauty. This song goes in and out from slow to hard, pretty to brutal, it covers all bases. The musicianship is great, although I really would have preferred a little less brutality on such a beautiful track. The icing on the cake is the solo at the 2:40 mark. It's not a million note-per second solo like you would expect from a death metal band. It's decently slow, very well thought out, and absolutely jaw-dropping. This song is really a fitting way to end such a great album.

All in all, Invictus is an awesome album, but I really would have liked a little more substance on the rest of the tracks. The musicians have great control over their instruments, but they should utilize them with more variety. A couple slower songs would have been great, and perhaps some more solos are in order, but overall, this album is one you really don't want to miss. Heaven Shall Burn are a phenomenal band, and I foresee great things to come with this album.

To buy the CD and for more information, please visit the band's official website.