Heaven Shall Burn aren’t exactly known for veering from their particularly steadfast brand of melodic death metal. Their ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality has seen the five-piece gain no mean following, so it comes as no surprise to find that tracks such as Passage Of The Crane do little to propel their latest release beyond that tried and tested path.
That may sound like damning with faint praise, but despite some hit-and-miss production, there are some solid tracks to be found here.
The harder hitting death metal grooves of standout Prey To God in particular go off with fine neck-snapping effect as Cannibal Corpse frontman George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher backs up Marcus Bischoff’s vocal attack. It’s telling, though, that it’s the atmospheric cover of My Dying Bride’s The Cry Of Mankind, which includes a guest spot vocal from Sólstafir’s Aðalbjörn Tryggvason, that will stick in the mind for any length of time once Wanderer has run its otherwise predictable course.
