CoC : Into Eternity - The Incurable Tragedy : Review

Into Eternity - _The Incurable Tragedy_
(Century Media, 2008)
by: Jackie Smit (5 out of 10)

Of all the possible niches and sub-genres that exist, most of us would have been hard-pressed to picture death and power metal laying side by side with any degree of comfort. Yet Canada's Into Eternity proved otherwise with the fleet-fingered success that was 2006's _The Scattering of Ashes_ and its equally impressive predecessor _Buried in Oblivion_. Quite how they've subsequently managed to jettison so much of their charm with their latest opus is thus something of a head-scratcher, though it can almost certainly be attributed -- at least in part -- to their apparent preoccupation with leftfield, prog-induced polyrhythms and a concept that doesn't ever take off as they had planned.

From the off, songs like "Spent Years of Regret" and "Symptoms" sound confused; never quite able to find their range and likewise failing dismally to engage at a level approaching anything the band have done previously. An oddly flat production doesn't help either, and one gets the impression that this was orchestrated to show off the extent to which Into Eternity have improved as players over the last two years. That may be all well and good, but when it comes at the expense of the songwriting finesse the band appeared to have in abundance last time round, it all seems to be a rather dichotomous exercise.

Contact: http://www.intoeternity.net/

(article published 1/9/2008)

ALBUMS
10/14/2006	K Sarampalis	8.5	Into Eternity - The Scattering of Ashes
2/29/2004	J Smit	8	Into Eternity - Buried in Oblivion