Into Eternity is one of those bands who only have put out quality records in their relatively short career. Formed in the late 90s the band released their self titled debut on Century Media which got followed up by Dead or Dreaming. 2004 saw the release of the critically acclaimed Buried in Oblivion. The thing with these kind of bands is that the only thing you might not like is the music itself. You know, those virtuoso-shred-masters who always impress. Into Eternity plays death metal mixed up with prog-influences, a trend that is continued on the band’s latest, The Scattering of Ashes. Let’s get our horns up.

 

Knowing their older material I noticed that the band is utilizing more and more prog and melodic elements in their material. Personally I think that’s a good thing but I can understand that some fans of the band might disagree with that. Stu Block’s clean vocals remind me of Dream Theater’s James LaBrie, while the vocal interaction between Block and guitarist Tim Roth results into a varied palette of clean singing, death metal growls and Halford-esque anthics.

 

The bands music switches between clever almost Death-like (the band) passages and melodic choruses which rely on the vocal strength of Block, resulting into songs with headbangable guitar riffs mixed up with choruses that allow you to raise your fist and sing/yell/monkey sound (you are a metal head after all) along with it. One might say that the songs tend to sound similar and cliché, but what’s wrong with that if you can write a quality record with those tracks?

 

The Scattering of Ashes is another fine entry to the discography of these Canadians. Most death and progressive metal fans should be able to appreciate this disc, and if you’re not sure; it's definitely worth checking out!