BURIED IN OBLIVION

While progressive in nature, this album contains influences from a wide variety of metal sub-genres and each individual song flows from one vocal style to the next effortlessly...just mind-boggling!

The vocals are varied but you won't find any "beauty and the beast" here, there are no female vocals included on this album, which is perhaps the only thing one could argue is missing here. This album includes some screaming and some raging guttural growls associated with the more extreme metal sub-genres. This added flavor will disappoint some listeners but it is required of the genre and style of music we find here. One quick look at the song titles reveals much about the lyrical content and theme of the album. I mean the title is a dead giveaway. But, what makes the album so special to me is the way the band mixes all those influences into one cohesive album. Imagine finding not one but two classically flavored acoustic power ballads on one album and then still consider that album to be way ahead of a plethora of other extreme progressive metal albums out right now.

"Splintered Vision" opens the album with some speedy twin guitar arpeggios that swell up and down very effectively I might add. The song blooms into a very pounding fast paced track. The band wastes no time introducing the listener to the many vocal styles found throughout the album. The production is clean and it is more closely associated with what we usually hear on albums of the more pristine power metal genre.

"Embraced by Desolation" has this most intriguing stop and start cadence that again is very effective at creating this sense of chaos that comes together in a most powerful chorus. More arpeggios performed at lightning fast speeds are included here and there. The track even comes to an abrupt end right on the final note of a fast swelling arpeggio.

Two songs into the album and the listener is taken in by the outstanding musicianship and the precision with which the boys come together is just crazy.

Next up is "3 Dimensional Aperture" and it is very heavy from the get go. The screams, the guttural growls, the clean higher octave voice, all included here. The blast beats, the shredding guitars, more swelling arpeggios, will have you wondering where these guys came from exactly? Is it really from Regina, Canada, or was that just a cover story to hide the fact these guys are actually from another planet?

"Beginning of the End" starts interesting enough with spurts of blast beats, more screaming à la Shadows Fall, more growls and more clean vocals to entertain you. Rob Doherty and Tim Roth are very capable guitarists, who like to play their solos lightning fast with short and quick little swelling arpeggios. Very cool, almost like a trademark of the band by now. Anyway, at this point in the album I've come to expect those swells every now and then.

Matter of fact, "Point of Uncertainty" opens with more swelling arpeggios. There's more of those start and stop cadences included in some parts of the song. I also really like the way the band moves into overdrive. It's always done progressively and it is something they do regularly well. During the last minute of this track, the double bass drum, bass and guitars are going so fast as to create what appears to be a series of very short swelling arpeggios that create yet a bigger swelling effect but this time done by the increase and decrease in the intensity of those short little swelling arpeggios. Very cool! I'd like to see the band try to recreate this awesome effect in a live setting?

The band finally decide to slow the pace down somewhat (even if it's only for the opening moments), and "Spiraling into Depression" is another fine example of the outstanding musical compositions and awesome musicianship found on the album.

"Isolation" arrives and totally blows you away all over again. Where do these guys come from again? Unbelievably talented bunch of blokes I tell you. This track plays out much like a recap of everything we found on the album so far. There's a little bit of everything here. All of the technical stuff they've done on the album is included on this one track. So if you want to know what you are getting into, this may very well be the best track to sample.

Then the band throws a wild pitch at you with the album title track "Buried in Oblivion." They appear to go all acoustic, beautiful clean vocals (in the higher octaves) and nice harmonies, with a sweet little electric guitar solo and an excellent twin acoustic guitar solo. A power ballad was totally unexpected, but very refreshing. Pleasantly surprised indeed, I enjoyed this song very much.

"Buried in Oblivion" flows smoothly into "Black Sea of Agony," a return to form with full band in tow. Another excellent track with some good clean vocals and excellent guitar work. One of the highlights for me. Sample lyrics:

"Wind blows out of control, unrelated unrelenting, alone I drift off again, diminishing the pain, take away my sanity, this vessels shielding all I see, block out all the thoughts of inner rage, protect me from myself..."

The band then throws another screw ball at you by going all acoustic again. With only the first opening bars of music, I was immediately reminded of ballads by 3 Doors Down and The Calling? I mean, WTF? But, with the higher octave vocals, "Morose Seclusion" simply rounds out and ends the album perfectly.

Late last year, I surprised a buddy of mine with this album, knowing his penchant for progressive power music, I thought he might get a kick out of it. One year later and he's still talking about Buried in Oblivion.

This album will not appeal to everyone and I can't really compare this to anyone either because it really is nothing like anything I`ve heard before. Sure, I've heard acoustic power ballads in the past, but Into Eternity is truly an original band with a most refreshing approach and superb mix of vocal styles that works better here than on any other CD I've heard before.

In the end, there's a little bit of everything for everyone here...highly recommended!