Canadian metallers Into
Eternity are gearing up to release their fifth album 'The Incurable
Tragedy' on August 25th (September 2nd - US) and longtime fans of the band
are dying to hear some brand new material following the bands 2006 smash
'The Scattering of Ashes'. 'The Incurable Tragedy' is a departure from the
bands previous work, with a more mature writing approach both lyrically
and musically. The band has spoken freely about the fact that this is a
concept album that focuses on the struggles of a man who is diagnosed with
Cancer. The Concept was inspired the two best friends and the disease of
guitarist Tim Roth's father. Anyone who is familiar with Into Eternity's
work will know that the band is in a class all on their own. The band borrows
certain key elements from many of Heavy Metal's sub genres such as Death,
black, power and thrash metal giving the band a no rules, no boundaries
attitude towards their music. Longtime fans will be aware that this is the
first album to feature the bands newest members Steve Bolognese (drums)
and guitarist Justin Bender, and their own flavor has helped take the band
in an even more experimental musical direction. 'The Incurable Tragedy'
is so diverse musically that it is almost in a category all on its own;
and that's one of the things I love the most about this album! In many ways
this is a very unique metal album and I take my hat off to the band for
that! Where many metal fans are not thrilled about concept albums for example,
Kiss' 'Music from the Elder' or Judas Priest's 'Nostradamus', I welcome
them! I like to see a metal band push their boundaries and see what they
can come up musically by in some cases using instruments that they have
never introduced to a band’s sound! Into Eternity have certainly pushed
it to the limits with 'The Incurable Tragedy' and it has worked out very
well for them! Keeping in mind that this on so many levels is a very personal
album for Tim Roth in particular, in many ways the concept hits very close
to home. I tried to look at 'The Incurable Tragedy' from the point of view
of a metal fan who has just picked up the latest album! There were a few
outstanding tracks that I wanted to tell you all about… 'Time Immemorial'
is a killer song! I loved the gentle melodic beginning and then boom, the
song was lifted and carried to another place entirely. The mixture of death
metal vocals and wonderful harmonies just made me enjoy this track more!
'Time Immemorial' is one of those songs that have a bunch of changes from
start to finish and although some people may find this a little annoying
it was something I found rather interesting and enjoyable to listen too!
'The Incurable Tragedy I November 21, 2006' is one of three songs that piece
this concept album all together and the dates are all significant for obvious
reasons. The piano work on part one is magical; I fell in love with this
song the minute it started, of all three Incurable Tragedies this would
be my favorite to listen too. 'Tides of Blood' was a song that blew me away
especially the high notes that vocalist Stu Block was reaching! If you're
not banging your head within seconds of this song starting then you shouldn't
be calling yourself a metal fan, the guitar work demonstrated by Tim Roth
and Justin Bender is phenomenal from start to finish! After listening to
such an intense track as 'Indignation' it was great to sit back and enjoy
'The Incurable Tragedy II November 10, 2006'. Just like part one I fell
in love with this mellow dark ballad, vocally Stu has done a wonderful job
with this one, I would love to hear the band doing this one in an unplugged
setting. 'The Incurable Tragedy' certainly showcases the growth musically
in the band and is an album that will appeal to many different fans of metal
music. I would recommend that you all consider checking out this album.
The overall production is massive and the musicianship is undeniably some
of the best I have heard in a long time!
'The Incurable Tragedy' was released on August 25th (Europe), September
2nd (US) via Century Records, grab a copy before the 'Tides of Blood' wash
you away!
Rating: 80
Reviewed By: Cameron Edney
- http://www.myspace.com/insideout666ints |
