Into Eternity - The Incurable Tragedy

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RIYL

Dragonforce
Iced Earth
Blind Guardian

Label

Century Media

Tracklist

1. Prelude to Woe
2. Tides of Blood
3. Spent Years of Regret
4. Symptoms
5. Diagnosis Terminal
6. The Incurable Tragedy I(September 21, 2006)
7. Indignation
8. Time Immemorial
9. The Incurable Tragedy II(November 10, 2006
10. A Black Light Ending
11. One Funeral Hymn for Three
12. The Incurable Tragedy III(December 15, 2006)

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Into Eternity have a habit of standing out from their peers even in the esoteric genre of progressive power-metal with their combination of classical music elements, such as drama and acoustic guitar, chipmunk-like clean vocals, and sometimes brutal death growls and snarls. The Canadian five-piece pushes the limits of what metal should be on each of their albums and do not break the mold they’ve set on their new release, The Incurable Tragedy.

A concept album based on guitarist Tim Roth’s depressing experiences of losing his father and two friends to cancer, The Incurable Tragedy tells the 40-minute story of a poor sap with the shitty luck of getting stuck with a terminal illness. Told mainly from the character’s perspective, vocalist Stu Block shrieks and growls his story through most of the tracks, only stopping to show us his softer side on a three-part series that shows up intermittently throughout the record.

Entitled “The Incurable Tragedy” (parts I, II, and III) they are mostly acoustic affairs in which Block and Roth lament the doom of our protagonist and dwell on what I assume the two thought Roth’s loved ones were going through with their illnesses. The third installment is the closing track and fades out with the beep and eventual flatline of an electrocardiogram. It’s dramatic and harrowing stuff (if you take it seriously), but mostly it’s a chance for Block to show off his impressive vocal range. The dude has some pipes and one of the most dynamic voices in metal.

Block’s and Roth’s character won’t go down without a fight, though. “Tides of Blood” kicks off the show with relentless double bass and layered, soaring vocals reminiscent of fellow prog-metalheads Blind Guardian. Into Eternity have a meaner edge, though, and throw in elements of thrash and death metal into many of their songs. “Time Immemorial” really showcases what Into Eternity are capable of: a soft, piano intro morphs into Death-inspired growls and then catchy, high-flying clean vocals, all while Roth and fellow guitarist Justin Bender (who, along with drummer Steve Bolognese, make their studio debuts for the band on this release) shred their way to the skies.

Every member of Into Eternity is an incredible musician in their own right and with Roth and Block’s flair for dramatics, they have crafted an album that is capable of appeasing a broad spectrum of metal fans. Playing at times more like a Shakespearean tragedy than a true metal record, The Incurable Tragedy could have benefited from a few more heavy tracks. Still worth checking out, chalk this up as another successful release from these titans of progressive death metal.

--Dan Strobel

Author

moat211
Last updated: 09/29/2009 09:01PM

Comments

siege_engine
09/26/2008
09:24AM
Age: 23
Location
JMU
This band sounds nothing like the RIYL and Blind Guardian being progressive metal? Dude, they define power metal. Prog metal would be Dream Theatre, Subterranean Masquerade, Arcturus.
Rick Gebhardt
09/26/2008
09:45AM
Age: 31
Location
Minnesota
I think this is easily Into Eternity's worst album. It's flat and uninteresting all the way through. Absolute garbage.

Find me EVERYWHERE:

moat211
09/26/2008
03:47PM
Location
raleigh
siege_engine
This band sounds nothing like the RIYL and Blind Guardian being progressive metal? Dude, they define power metal. Prog metal would be Dream Theatre, Subterranean Masquerade, Arcturus.



I threw in Blind Guardian because both they and Into Eternity have a penchant for dramatics and have elements of progressive power metal. And since this is Into Eternity's most dramatic album, I found it fitting.
I put Iced Earth in there because they throw in so many different elements of metal into their music(thrash, death, power, progressive) just like Into Eternity.
Dragonforce because of the intense shredding and high-pitched vocals, just like Into Eternity.

Into Eternity are hard to classify because they have so many different sounds. Who would you have put in your RIYL?
Spartan E7
09/28/2008
08:36AM
Age: 25
Location
Infinitely Inwards
This vocalist has probably one of the most pretentious vocal styles i have ever heard. He attempts to sound like a melodic death metal version of Rob Halford and neither one of them, to me, are good. However, I am always impressed with the guitarwork from IT as they still maintain some of the most technical leadwork in this genre. The defining factor of any band, though, is their cohesive songwriting ability and the drive make sure that their "sound" is portrayed with meaning; Into Eternity has failed me on both accounts this run. I wish for the days of Buried In Oblivion, that shit was ridiculously epic.

Ever Forthright - Ever Forthright
Fallujah - The Harvest Wombs
The New Law - The Fifty Year Storm
The Mars Volta - Noqtourniqet
Aborted - Global Flatline
Spawn of Possession - Incurso
Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind)The Crafty Ape

Rick Gebhardt
09/28/2008
03:57PM
Age: 31
Location
Minnesota
The vocalist is a total cock-face. I saw these guys live and he's just obnoxious. He'll "conduct" his bandmates while he sings and does all this lame ass power metal posturing. It's just ridiculous. And his voice is annoying when he's trying to wail.

Find me EVERYWHERE:

asheswillremain
09/28/2008
05:21PM
Location
Bay Area, CA
These guys were better before the lineup changes, which is to say, up through Buried in Oblivion. That album slays. I've gotten a few spins out of this, as well as the last one, but I can't say that I'm all that partial to either.