Into Eternity Buried In Oblivion
Century Media - 2004
By Rodrigo Escandon
Wow! From seemingly out of nowhere, at least for me, Into Eternity has released a monster of an album that is sure to place this band as one of the forerunners in metal. Buried in Oblivion is their third album and all the promise and ideas that were shown in Dead or Dreaming have come to fruition to create what is right now the best album of the year.
Dead or Dreamings poor sound took away from the enjoyment of some of the musical ideas that were being showcased, but the biggest culprit for my disenchantment with that album was the annoying clean vocals.
Thankfully, those two weaknesses have been vastly improved, as this time around the sound is perfect, each instrument is crystal clear, and not one of them dominates. The virtuous guitar playing from Rob Doherty and Tim Roth is phenomenal. The bands sound can best be described as progressive technical death metal and the music encompasses everything from those genres and more. Without pause this group can go from fast melodic melodies to heavier and thrashier riffs and vice versa.
From the moment that Splintered Visions starts with its twin-guitar melodies, to be joined by the excellent rhythmic backbone of Scott Kralls bass, as well as Jim Austins drumming, a very cool progressive instrumental passage begins. Following these shades of Dream Theater the band seamlessly jumps into thrash metal heaven. All this occurs in the space of 40 seconds, and, just like that, you are hooked. One might think that this contrast in styles just can not work or mold together, but it happens perfectly in every song, and Into Eternity just does not miss a beat as the first 7 tracks blow through your speakers.
Fast melodies, intricate drumming and exemplary bass lines will be the norm as these songs transgress. Beginning of the End and Spiraling into Depression are two of these excellent and noteworthy songs. The former is heavier than the rest and the latter is memorable for its slower tempo and one of the coolest riffs in the entire album, appearing in the first 20 seconds. The last 3 songs are calmer, slower and more emotional. Acoustic guitars lead Buried in Oblivion" and "Morose Seclusion", while Black Sea of Agony follows a similar pattern to the first songs, but it showcases ideas and lyrics from the title track.
The second weakness that needed improvement was the clean vocals, and to my sheer listening joy these have been vastly improved to point that they sound even better than the death vocals. In nearly all the tracks these vocal melodies are just so damn catchy and addictive that it is hard not to sing along. They really drive the songs, but the death and screaming vocals are used in equal amounts throughout the album, and nothing is lost when that occurs. Just as the music has the perfect mix of different genres, so do the vocals.
Buried in Oblivion is as close to perfection as an album is going to get and the bar has been set for the rest of the releases of the year to follow. Its still February but I predict that this album will sit very high on many year-end charts. Believe the hype!
Century Media Website
Into Eternity Official Website
Century Media - 2004
By Rodrigo Escandon
Wow! From seemingly out of nowhere, at least for me, Into Eternity has released a monster of an album that is sure to place this band as one of the forerunners in metal. Buried in Oblivion is their third album and all the promise and ideas that were shown in Dead or Dreaming have come to fruition to create what is right now the best album of the year.
Dead or Dreamings poor sound took away from the enjoyment of some of the musical ideas that were being showcased, but the biggest culprit for my disenchantment with that album was the annoying clean vocals.
Thankfully, those two weaknesses have been vastly improved, as this time around the sound is perfect, each instrument is crystal clear, and not one of them dominates. The virtuous guitar playing from Rob Doherty and Tim Roth is phenomenal. The bands sound can best be described as progressive technical death metal and the music encompasses everything from those genres and more. Without pause this group can go from fast melodic melodies to heavier and thrashier riffs and vice versa.
From the moment that Splintered Visions starts with its twin-guitar melodies, to be joined by the excellent rhythmic backbone of Scott Kralls bass, as well as Jim Austins drumming, a very cool progressive instrumental passage begins. Following these shades of Dream Theater the band seamlessly jumps into thrash metal heaven. All this occurs in the space of 40 seconds, and, just like that, you are hooked. One might think that this contrast in styles just can not work or mold together, but it happens perfectly in every song, and Into Eternity just does not miss a beat as the first 7 tracks blow through your speakers.
Fast melodies, intricate drumming and exemplary bass lines will be the norm as these songs transgress. Beginning of the End and Spiraling into Depression are two of these excellent and noteworthy songs. The former is heavier than the rest and the latter is memorable for its slower tempo and one of the coolest riffs in the entire album, appearing in the first 20 seconds. The last 3 songs are calmer, slower and more emotional. Acoustic guitars lead Buried in Oblivion" and "Morose Seclusion", while Black Sea of Agony follows a similar pattern to the first songs, but it showcases ideas and lyrics from the title track.
The second weakness that needed improvement was the clean vocals, and to my sheer listening joy these have been vastly improved to point that they sound even better than the death vocals. In nearly all the tracks these vocal melodies are just so damn catchy and addictive that it is hard not to sing along. They really drive the songs, but the death and screaming vocals are used in equal amounts throughout the album, and nothing is lost when that occurs. Just as the music has the perfect mix of different genres, so do the vocals.
Buried in Oblivion is as close to perfection as an album is going to get and the bar has been set for the rest of the releases of the year to follow. Its still February but I predict that this album will sit very high on many year-end charts. Believe the hype!
Century Media Website
Into Eternity Official Website
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