Review Summary: Overrated, boring death metal.
Into Eternity are supposed to be the next big thing in Progressive Metal. These Canadians have risen from nowhere to follow into the footsteps of Opeth, Dream Theater, and their prog metal kin. Switching band members like a revolving door, their line-up cannot be accredited with stability, and this release marks down that chaotic and tumultuous atmosphere.
The whole record is a motley assortment of songs, riffs, melodies and beats, but without any coherent structure or glue underneath. It feels like the disc is more a display of technical prowess than it is an actual album. Riffs are good, but they don't follow any patterns, and they constantly seem out of place. The solos are totally out of synch with the song atmospheres, and are more wanking than anything else. It seems like the guitarist is trying to outdo Petrucci for the title of Shred Master, but at least Petrucci has the advantage that his work with Dream Theater combines his lead and rhythm work into actual songs.
The vocals are a definite lowpoint too. There is a lot of grunting and black-metal esque vocal moments, contrasted with clean moments. It reminds me of Trivium at times, it sounds more like Metalcore than prog metal. Now Stu's clean voice actually isn't that bad, but when he tries to do a Rob Halford impersonation with insane screamed falsetto vocals, I turn my head in disgust. Leave the screaming to the guys that can actually do it, and stop trying to torture my ears. And the harsh vocals everywhere just simply ruin the flow of the songs. If you have a singer that can use a clean voice properly, what is the point in raping your voice with harsh vocals? Why not use the ability to sing clean to a full extent and prevent any throat injuries? I highly prefer clean vocals to grunts, but when used sparingly and in the right way I can take them. But this is ridiculous, and it just sounds horrible. The harmonised vocals during the choruses are well pulled off, though, I give the band that. But why not just rather continue that trend throughout the album?
The only proper thing about this band, and one that I can find nothing to complain about is the drums. Jim Austin pulls off some incredibly quick fills and does some very cool drumming overall. Speedy, slow, whatever's needed. But however, excellent drums does not a good song make, and therefore despite his display of excellence no single song manages to hold up under scrutiny, except the ballad Surrounded By Night, which is the best song on the record. But you know it's a bad sign when the ballad is the best song on a metal album. It is also the only song that breaks the chain of monotonous and boring metal that besets the rest of the album.
And then we get to the last point. Next to the total disorder found musically on this album, the variety level is also at a lowpoint. Every song sounds the same, with the same choruses, the same type of riffs, the same boring solos, and the same drum fills. It may be an unrelenting barrage of metal, but that doesn't make the album good. Basically, it makes the album a complete drag to listen to. I'm all for good metal, but please, keep changing the tempos, try new things, broaden your scope, instead of playing the same boring death metal song with the same atrocious vocals all over again. The masses do not need to know you're technically proficient at your instruments, they just want you to play a proper song.
Overall, if there is one word to describe this album, it is overrated. It is quite hard to understand what the fuss is all about on here, seeing that there's nothing really exceptional going on except in the drumming part. Into Eternity can do much better with their skills than this slab of pure mud they've delivered here, and I hope to see them trying to progress and improve on their next album, because this really was the disappointment of the year for me.
