Into Eternity "Buried in Oblivion" CD
[Century Media]
Holy shit... this rules. I bought this without listening to it because I had heard good things and figured, "What the hell?", and damn... the hype is right! This is some sweet progressive metal that hits on everything from the staples of the genre (soaring singing vocals, blazing virtuoso lead breaks, etc.) to death metal growls/snarls, thrash metal picking patterns, some power metal shredding, the works. The songwriting is just awesome, though! The riffs are memorable, some of the vocal lines and harmonies really make for memorable choruses, and there's a nice sense of energy throughout the record - unifying diverse influences without coming off as forced or too busy. Shit, "3 Dimensional Aperture" is nonstop riffery with everything from high speed thrashiness to chunkier rhythms, amazing vocal tradeoffs, and an unforgettable chorus that brings back the golden age of true metal. And these fuckers are from Canada, of all places! I'd almost expect something this cool to have come from Sweden, Germany, maybe Italy or something... but never would I have guessed this was coming out of North America! Amazing! I do find myself wishing that the singing vocals were used at all times, as they're a bit more emphatic and memorable in my opinion, but the variety of vocal deliveries is nice nonetheless. The singing is fucking excellent though, I haven't heard vocals this professional and appropriate for this style of music in awhile. There are of course a few moments that I'm not into, for instance some of the more rhythmic and sparse moments such as those midway through "Isolation" are boring to me (despite often giving the drums some time to shine), and there are some generic technical runs that rely less on feel than they do on technique or patterns, but overall these songs are very well executed. The title track consists solely of beautiful acoustic guitars and immense vocal harmonies that tie into portions of its sister track, "Black Sea of Agony"... fucking epic! The recording needs work, but for the most part sounds great, and the performances are impeccable so I'm not that concerned with it. The singing vocals sound excellent, and the guitar tone is nice and crisp, with a great level of control, but I'd like to hear more bass, and the drums could indeed be warmer and more natural so as to blend in with the other elements a bit more cooperatively. You can generally hear all of the vocal/guitar layering though, and that's my #1 concern. I'm not that into the layout because it all just looks a little busy and cluttered as far as typeface selection and imagery, but it's alright. It doesn't look bad, it just doesn't grab my attention the way the music does. Lyrically I'm not really taken either. Nothing really rubs me the wrong way, I'm just not that interested in what's going on there. But musically, this is great stuff. Any fan of progressive metal would be well advised to check this out. It's not run of the mill, it's just a great metal record chock full of quality musicianship and songwriting. Very cool. (8/10)
Running time - 44:42, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Embraced by Desolation, 3 Dimensional Aperture, Buried in Oblivion, Black Sea of Agony]
Into Eternity - http://www.intoeternity.com

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