Review Summary: Into Eternity have set the standard for excellent progressive with their fourth album. Featuring incredible musicality and superb songwriting, this album stands to be one of the best albums to come out this year.
Wow, 2006 has really been one of the best years in metal in quite some time. There have been a plethora of great releases this year from just about every sub genre in the scene.
Dragonforce released
Inhuman Rampage.
Arsis will be releasing
United In Regret.
Ihsahn released
The Adversary.
Unearth released
III: In the Eyes of Fire. These are only some of the albums that really stood out for me this year, but it's safe to say that this period in metal history surely shows that the genre isn't backing down any time soon. Every time metal is on the brink of destruction, it always comes back. Always, without fail. Oh yeah, what of the progressive metal genre?
Mastodon came out with
Blood Mountain and propelled the band to new heights, but what of the lesser known prog metal bands? Since
Opeth and
Dream Theater haven't released anything this year, it surely gives
Into Eternity the time they surely deserve to show that they are possibly the strongest bands to come out of the progressive metal scene. Enter...
The Scattering of Ashes
Into Eternity consists of:
Stu Block - Vocals
Tim Roth - Guitars and Vocals
Troy Bleich - Bass and Vocals
Jim Austin - Drums
The past:
Into Eternity have been solid since the beginning, but like all young bands, they had their flaws which were easily fixed within the next few albums.
Dead or Dreaming showed the world that they were one of the most talented and unique prog metal bands in America, displaying tons of intricate guitar work and great harmonized vocals. The album's songwriting was fairly primitive at the time, but still enjoyable to listen to. Give the band a few years and then they dropped
Buried In Oblivion. I have yet to listen to the entire thing, but all of the songs I have heard displayed incredible technicality and much improved songwriting. Into Eternity's legacy was just on its way. Stand aside,
Opeth and
Tool.
Into Eternity is here to claim their rightful place in the hall of tremendous prog metal bands.
The present:
The Scattering of Ashes is not only the strongest album of this band's career, it actually stands to me as one of the best progressive metal albums to come out in the last decade. The songwriting on this album is absolutely amazing. From just the opening minute of "Severe Emotional Distress" you'll be able to tell that this band is flat out amazing. The band is chock full of talent, whether it be Tim Roth's shredgasmic soloing, Stu Roth's soaring vocals or Jim Austin's beastly fast bass drumming, you'll be on your knees bowing down to these guys in a matter of minutes.
Their first few albums had tons of talent, but some of the riffs seemed out of place or the high pitched clean vocals would be a little bit off. It's practically all been fixed at this point, save for a few awkward vocal moments from Stu Block's soaring clean vocals. The songs on here are also incredibly catchy, while still being able to bring the pain with plenty of death growls and screams. Songs like "Nothing" have some of the catchiest choruses I've come across in a while, featuring plenty of great clean vocals, melodic leads, and low end screaming. The album's token ballad, "Surrounded by Night" is also really easy to listen to and displays plenty of feeling and emotion with Roth's acoustic guitar work, until a few minutes in Jim Austin pounds you into the ground with some incredibly fast drumming and great guitar riffs. These are just a few instances, but if you listen to the whole thing you'll see what I mean.
The conclusion:
Do you listen to any form of music? You do?! Well then get this album quick! It's one of the most impressive albums to come out in any genre this year and has some pretty impressive appeal. I've known plenty of people who don't like metal come up to me and tell me that they like this band. If you're into complex music, this album is certainly supplied with that. If you're into catchy songs with a good melody and chorus, look no further than
The Scattering of Ashes. As soon as you're done reading this, go to a website and get this, or head on over to your nearest record store and check it out. I can't get enough of this album.
Suggested listening:
Severe Emotional Distress
Nothing
Surrounded By Night
(These are the strongest on the album, but the whole thing is worth listening to.)
Thor's Rating:
Within the genre: 4.8/5
Outside the genre: 4.2/5
