Heaven Shall Burn, formed in 1996, is a melodic death metal/metalcore band … Read Full Bio ↴Heaven Shall Burn, formed in 1996, is a melodic death metal/metalcore band from Saalfeld, Germany. 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 nine studio albums, as well as a number of other records. One of their album, Veto, entered the German Album Charts at #2 in 2013.

Heaven Shall Burn's musical style has been described as metalcore, melodic death metal, and deathcore. Their lyrics express strong support for anti-racism and anti-fascism, as well as political resistance and animal rights. All members are vegans or vegetarians and most follow a straight edge philosophy.

The Final March
Heaven Shall Burn Lyrics

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This is the call to arms, the final call
Exchanged the shuttle for the sword
For generations we slaved away in the shadows of their towers
The world we know, a torture-chamber
Born as servants, exploited til death
To their machines were marching with Captain Ludd in mind

The final march begins, down with all the kings

The shroud we weave completed
The air we breath is not the stench of slavery
Down with the king
Down with all kings

Winter-withered bodies, souls sunken into misery
Our minds and future as black masters hearts
Now we engage the enemy; the web we weave completed

Can't wait for God to judge those monsters
A religion that just mocks us and justifies this misery

Overall Meaning

The song "The Final March" by Heaven Shall Burn addresses the call to arms for the oppressed and enslaved to rise up against their cruel oppressors. The song starts by evoking the imagery of exchanging the shuttle for the sword, which can be interpreted as a metaphorical call for the oppressed to exchange their servitude for resistance. The lyrics depict the march to overthrow the kings and rulers who have enslaved and oppressed them for generations. The world they have always known is like a torture-chamber, where people are born into servitude and exploited until their deaths. The song mentions Captain Ludd, who is a symbol of the early 19th-century English Luddite movement, which was a working class movement against industrialisation producing textile machinery. In this context, Captain Ludd represents rebellion and resistance against the machines that are used to exploit the workers.

The chorus comes in as a call to arms to overthrow all the kings and rulers who have oppressed the people. The shroud they have been weaving is finally completed, meaning that they have prepared themselves enough for the final march to overthrow their oppressors. The lyrics convey the idea that the people are not breathing in the stench of slavery anymore; they are taking control of their lives and refusing to be oppressed any longer. The winter-withered bodies and sunken souls of the oppressed are now being used as tools to create a better future. The song talks about the oppressive religion that has justified their misery and mocks them, emphasizing that the people refuse to wait for God to judge the monsters who have exploited them for so long. The Final March signals the end of their oppression and the beginning of their freedom.

Line by Line Meaning

This is the call to arms, the final call
We are being summoned to take up arms and fight in the final battle

Exchanged the shuttle for the sword
We have abandoned our peaceful ways and taken up arms in the fight for our freedom

For generations we slaved away in the shadows of their towers
We have been oppressed and exploited for generations, living in the shadow of the tyrants' towers

The world we know, a torture-chamber
The world we live in is a place of immense suffering and pain

Born as servants, exploited til death
We were born into servitude and have been exploited until our dying breaths

To their machines were marching with Captain Ludd in mind
We are marching towards their machines with the memory of Captain Ludd, a historical figure known for his rebellion against the industrial revolution, in our thoughts

The final march begins, down with all the kings
The ultimate confrontation against the tyrants has begun, with the goal of overthrowing all kings

The shroud we weave completed
We have reached the end, and our final plan has been put in place

The air we breath is not the stench of slavery
We are no longer living in a world dominated by slavery and oppression

Down with the king
We must overthrow the king, who represents the heart of the oppressive system

Winter-withered bodies, souls sunken into misery
Our physical and mental states have been weakened by the harsh winter, and our souls are weighed down by misery

Our minds and future as black masters hearts
Our minds and futures have been darkened by the heartless masters who have ruled over us

Now we engage the enemy; the web we weave completed
We are finally ready to confront our enemy, and we have set our trap

Can't wait for God to judge those monsters
We cannot rely on divine judgment to punish the monsters who have caused us so much suffering

A religion that just mocks us and justifies this misery
The religion of our oppressors has been used to justify our misery, and we are tired of being mocked and exploited in the name of that faith

Contributed by Asher C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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