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Review:
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A loved one's death is the worst pain one can feel.Some
cry the pain out,others keep it inside so they can use it
later for other vindictive purposes.Fewer still can't survive
it.And a select handful depict it in art.That is exactly
what vocalist/guitarist Tim Roth decided to do after having
lost two of his best friends and his father to cancer.Hence,'The
Incurable Tragedy' is Into Eternity's 1st concept album.
***
One would expect that the grief of loss would have
culminated into a very emotional strain of music.This however,is
not that case.Barring the 3 title track parts,the rest of
this album is basically filled with the relentless speed
and aggression that Into Eternity is famous for.Musically
its sort of a combination of the 'Buried in Oblivion' and
'The Scattering of Ashes' sounds.There is a marked increase
in technical focus on the album but not up to the same level
as 'Buried in Oblivion';at the same time,the melodic aspect
has also been maintained à la 'The Scattering of Ashes'.The
bass licks on this album also have a marked Jazz influence
on them.New drummer Steve Bolognese continues where Jim
Austin left off in terms of the blast beats and double bass
batteries.However,the vocals have just got a tad irritating.Stu
Block has realized he can go higher pitched than he went
earlier and that results in a very irritating,buzzing sensation
in your ears.Personally,I would prefer it if he did not
decide to exploit this talent of his. ***
Emotionally,this album fails to deliver.The speed and
aggresion on most of the songs just make the whole feel
of it very casual.They never strike you as songs about someone
diagnosed with cancer and his feeling of helplessness.But
where these tracks fail,the 3 'Incurable Trgedies' make
up for them.With the use of orchestral atmospheres and ballad-esque
singing,these songs are athe perfect representation of helplessness
and sadness,especially the last one (an instrumental).The
dates mentioned with each song are the dates on which Tim
Roth lost each loved one to cancer. ***
Overall,one can hardly tell that this album is a concept
album (save for the beginning and ending heartbeats and
the sound of an ECG going dead).Personally,I don't think
Into Eternity should have ventured into this terrain which
already has masters like Iced Earth and Amaseffer walking
it.If you are a fan of fast and heavy music,go for this
album.But for fans of great storytelling,you are not missing
out on anything.
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