Into Eternity
The Scattering of Ashes
Century Media
Real men eat wheat
It didn’t take long for Into Eternity to establish themselves as Saskatchewan’s premier metal band, but considering that the last metal band from the humble Western Canadian province to achieve marginal success was Kick Axe two decades ago, the competition wasn’t that stiff. Though the band was so adept at melodic death metal that they’re often mistaken for Swedes, something always kept Into Eternity from making that one bold leap forward. Band members changed at a confusing rate, production was stilted, and despite superb guitar work and soaring lead vocals, the songwriting was as unfocused as mid ’80s Fates Warning.
After coming close in 2004 with Buried in Oblivion, IE get it right on this fourth try, an assertive album that’s as catchy as it is technical, enhanced tremendously by Andy Sneap’s now-ubiquitous sonic punch. Guitarist Tim Roth remains the focal point, providing dizzying leads and spiraling arrangements, but in vocalist Stu Block, he finally has a perfect foil: a singer with the kind of versatility a band of this caliber needs. Block’s range is unreal; on “Nothing” and “Timeless Winter” he sounds like a product of the ’80s Metal Institute of Vocal Histrionics (oh, if such a place existed), majoring in Udo Dirkschneider and minoring in David Wayne, while “Out” features screams, growls, howls and croons in a gloriously schizophrenic performance. Best of all, Roth and his mates show just enough restraint to let the melodies settle in our heads, with “Surrounded by Night” and the terrific “Severe Emotional Distress” two prime examples on a breakthrough album that’s as catchy as it is technical. —Adrien Begrand
