Into Eternity

And here I return from the weekend with another post about one of my personal favourites.
This band definitely puts emphasis on METAL in Progressive Metal, but damn, when has anybody heard music so technical AND catchy the last time?

Into Eternity

Genre: Progressive Power/Death Metal

Formed: 1997 in Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada), active

Members:

Stu Block - Vocals (also in Omega Crom)
Tim Roth - Guitar, Vocals
Justin Bender - Guitar
Troy Bleich - Bass
Jim Austin - Drums (also in Sympathy)

Former:

Chris Krall - Vocals (2003-2005)
Scott Krall - Bass
Chris McDougall - Keyboards
Daniel Nargang - Vocals, Guitars
Jeff Storrey - Live Guitars
Chris Eisler - Live Drums
Dean Sternberg - Vocals
Adam Sagan - Drums (formerly in Halcyon(US)
Rob "Smiley" Doherty - Guitars, Growls (2003-2005) (also in Pericardium)

Discography:

1999 - Into Eternity (album; reissued by DVS Records in 2000)
2001 - Dead Or Dreaming (album; reissued by Century Media Records in 2002)
2004 - Buried in Oblivion (album)
2006 - The Scattering Of Ashes (album)

As you can see, Into Eternity went through a lot of, sometimes insignificant, line up changes, so I won't focus on that too much.
Into Eternity was founded in 1997; not much is known about what was going on with them until the independent release of their first album titled "Into Eternity".
Although the production is a little rough and the songs lack the finesse of their newer material, the Into Eternity trademarks of fusioning Death Metal and Progressive Power Metal featuring modern rhythms as well as vocal polyphony were already established in that release, and they signed to DVS Records and eventually rereleased "Into Eternity" a year later.
2001, they released their sophomore "Dead Or Dreaming", an album that gained them instant media attention and a contract from one of the world's leading Metal labels, Century Media.
"Dead Or Dreaming" showcased a more mature, professional band, progressing but not changing. It isn't perfect, but it certainly showed what they were capable of.
They then released "Buried In Oblivion" in 2004, their best album in my opinion.
Receiving overwhelming reviews from all over the world, the band toured Europe with Naglfar.
That's when I first noticed them.
I had read about them, that they were THE new hot band, but I hadn't heard anything yet.
When they started their gig, they opened with the jaw dropping lead from "Splintered Visions", and I was blown away instantly. Those guys had me fascinated throughout all of their set.
They were so well-recevied that they were actually sent back for another tour with Kataklysm (which I unfortunately missed).
I then got "Buried In Oblivion", and it's definitely one of the most important releases of 2004, maybe even the whole decade. Progressive instrumental parts collaborate perfectly with blasting Death Metal parts as well as the sonic assault of the five voice singing, burning the catchiest melodies in every brain forever.
Unfortunately, they parted ways with their singer Chris Krall but luckily found an adequate replacement in Stu Block, whose vocal spectrum spans even further than Krall's.
While Into Eternity stayed publicly silent for quite a while, they recorded their latest effort, "The Scattering Of Ashes". It was released this fall, and it's another great album, although it can't live up to the expectations created by "Buried In Oblivion" (which was virtually impossible).
The vocals have gone from five voice to two voice, as well as the songs being more direct and compact; Into Eternity stated they wanted songs that were possible to recreate live.
I guess the reason for that is that they disembarked on 2006's Gigantour with Megadeth and others, the name implying the magnitude of the event.
The future looks good for Into Eternity; it'll be interesting to see what they're up to...

Links:

Into Eternity Official Website
Into Eternity @ Myspace(go here to listen to 3 songs)
Into Eternity Media Section

Videos on youtube.com:

-Into Eternity seem to have discovered youtube.com for themselves; instead of posting all their videos here, just follow this link to them: click here

This is the song that I wrote about ("Splintered Visions"):


Bands already featured:

Adagio
Cellar Door
Chaoswave
Circus Maximus
Dream Theater
Pagan's Mind
Spiral Architect

(just search this blog or look in the archive for the band you're interested in - scroll up to the top)