Into Eternity

Has it already been 10 years ago the release of The Incurable Tragedy? Yes, and there has happened a lot for the band since then. Drummer Steve Bolognese left the band and was replaced by Bryan Newbury. Guitarist Justin Bender left the band and got replaced by Matt Cuthbertson. Stu Block joined Iced Earth in 2011 and definitely left Into Eternity in 2013, Amanda Kiernan (also: The Order of Chaos) became the permanent lead singer. Also tragedy came on their road, with the loss of former guitarist Rob Doherty and former drummer Adam Sagan who died of Cancer. In 2015 the band announced a new album on their new label Kolony Records, but then it became quiet and I am sure that there will be some answers on that one in several interviews that will follow in magazines and webzines soon. Finally, on the 3rd of August the new self released album will be available and it is sure worth the wait.

The Canadians are known for their excellent mix of death, progressive and power metal and lots of tempo changes. On The Sirens this isn’t any different. Sure you have to get used to the new vocals, but Amanda shows that she can grunt, growl and sing clean for the best. New drummer Bryan sounds very tight and the songwriting of the band is still of old. There is probably not a band that can be so extreme and then can change into serene and melodic so naturally.

Opener ‘The Sirens’ starts with a beautiful piano part before exploding into a fast progressive complicated death metal track with layered growls, grunts and screams, varied by clean melodic singing. Shortly said, the way we are used from Into Eternity. Next song starts again rather soft, but then changes into a fast aggressive sounding progressive power/death metal track. The same can be said about ‘Sandstorm’, with again super fast drumming parts and grunts from the gutter, besides Amanda also Tim and Troy contribute. ‘This Frozen Hell’ is a typical Into Eternity song with all elements included. The first not typical track is the ballad ‘Nowhere Near’, not the best ballad I know, but the fast ending part compensates it a little.  ‘Devoured By Sarcopenia’ starts very surprisingly sounding like a commercial Avanged Sevenfold track. Then suddenly the tempo increases and the screams appear, the refrain however could be a radio hit by itself. The most difficult track to get used to is ‘Fukushima’, a track where the differences in styles couldn’t be bigger. Closer ‘The Scattering Of Ashes pt2’ is an epic soft song with accoustic guitar accompanied by serene vocals of Amanda.

Final conclusion is that Into Eternity are back with a good album, that fits to their repertoire. After 10 years I hope there are still fans that will purchase the new album, because they deserve it.