The Great Metal Debate review of Into Eternity’s long-awaited album “Sirens”, releasing out on October 26, 2018.
I’m going to be unapologetic about this - there is only one word that can truly describe this album… that word is intense. This album is unforgiving, it is relentless, it is intense. It is almost flawless, but, still leaves you at the front of your seat wanting more.
The album “The Sirens” begins with the opening title track where you get this haunting, ghostly, eerie, piano intro, followed by the guitar melody that takes the same shape. This is followed by this intense, death metal styled riff, paired with blast beats and death metal vocals, shrieking high black metal vocals, and then some of the best clean vocals I’ve ever heard from anyone!
Now, before listening to this, for the people who have never heard Into Eternity, and may be interested in giving the album a listen when it comes out, they are one of those bands that are really hard to pinpoint within one genre. That being said, they throw in classic heavy metal, classical elements, progressive metal time signatures, black metal vocals, death metal, and even power metal in the guitars and vocals.
Not a lot of bands can pull off this style. Often when bands try to do something completely different and try and switch things up so radically they fail at it. But, thankfully, some bands do know how to concoct that formula appropriately end up leaving with happy fans. And, that‘s what you get with “The Sirens“. With the opening track you get black metal, death metal, power metal, classical, and heavy metal. And progressive metal, with the out-of-left-field transitions, death metal gutturals, melodic guitar solos, blast beats - you name it. All in one song!
This album has so many memorable moments in it, such as Fukushima. It‘s obvious what the song is about - the tragic events that happened at Fukushima - at the power plant following the earth quake and tsunami, that claimed almost 18,000 lives unfortunately. That is probably my favorite song on the album. Of course, you can find a single of it that was released in 2012 with Stu Block on it. It doesn‘t sound much different than on the album, other than having Amanda Kiernan on vocals. But, she doesn‘t leave you missing Stu Block. Even though he was an awesome member of the band, left an awesome legacy of two albums. But, honestly, she sounds just like him. When she brings out the chorus it sounds like she‘s going Kobra Paige at one moment and then she brings out Chuck Billy (Testament) and Bobby “Blitz“ Ellsworth (Overkill). Wow! So many styles in one person; lots of diversity. Why not!?!
Not to mention, the chorus is catchy… you‘ve get this awesome, guttural, slam-metal vocal that comes out of nowhere in the song. It gives me goose bumps just to talk about it!
Another song I‘d like to mention on this album. Probably one of the more notable Into Eternity songs in their catalogue, it starts out with this finger-picked nylon acoustic melody that‘s played about four minutes into the song, with Amanda Kiernan singing doing all these dual harmonies. It gives you an Egyptian feel… a melancholic feel of being alone, of being nowhere near you want to be. And, suddenly, four minutes into it you‘re hit like a fucking freight train with these awesome, tremolo-picked riffs, solo, and then an awesome black metal blast-beat section at the end. You’re left crushed and decimated.
So, I give this album four out of five stars, just because I wanted more of this. Eight songs, fifty minutes long. A well-balanced progressive metal album. They don’t go overboard, they don’t go over the top, they don’t jump the shark like some progressive metal bands do. They have balanced this album out and they have come out swinging on this come-back album.
So, on October 26 check out Into Eternity’s “The Sirens”.