(Melodic Death/Progressive Metal) [CD] Into Eternity - The Scattering of Ashes (Japanese Edition) - 2006, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

I haven't been an Into Eternity fan for a long time (I began on their third album and worked my way back) so I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing a lot of what Into Eternity has been able to do for fans. Granted, I am a diehard one now - but I thought this would help understand my review of their latest effort, The Scattering of Ashes.
The Scattering of Ashes is something of a transitional album I believe. Into Eternity is a band that has been plagued with constant band member changes and the lastest album is a specific example of the "keeping up with the Jones" that fans have to go through to stay up to date with Into Eternity.
Tim Roth is the man. No, literally, he is the bread and butter of this band and that's why the music is mostly in the same style and structure as in previous releases. The guitar work that is present on The Scattering of Ashes is, to say the least, unbelievably technical and catchy. Few bands have the talent and willpower to be able to write a guitar part that allows the metal elitists to nod their heads AND also catch the attention of newer fans to create an evergrowing fanbase. Into Eternity has always been able to do this and The Scattering of Ashes is a particular case of such. All the music is expertly written with the focus on the music and presentation rather than the other distractions that being a metal artist tend to pull to. The guitars are consistantly amazing and disorienting at the same time and the flow of each song (and ultimately the album itself) is well thought out and emotional. So is there a flaw in the music? Not in the writing part - these guys are going to around a long time - but in the production. Everything sounds amazing until the first drum lick comes up. The drums parts are ridiculously loud and overbearing. Not that the parts don't fit in with the rest of the music - they almost devour it. The bass drum and snare drum in particular feel very stressed. The bass drum is also a little hollow sounding and dull even though it's so loud. I was shocked at this because this never occured on other albums in Into Eternity's albums. Luckily, once you get used to the initial shock of the drums you learn to dismiss the small flaw for the vastness of the guitar use.
Another change for Into Eternity was the change of vocalists. Stu Block is an interesting vocalist due to his ability to pull different vocal styles for different parts. One time he does a pretty decent gutteral death vocal part followed by a shriek VERY reminisent of Halford. It literally threw me off balance to hear a vocalist with that kind of range. He is different from the previous singer (less power metal sounding) and very skilled at what he does. It helps that the two guitarists help by singing background vocals so that he is able to intermix some of the death and sung parts but overall this new vocalist is a very powerful and useful tool for Into Eternity to have in their ranks.
Overall, I think that I prefered the last album over this one - partially because I'm more familiar with it; but The Scattering of Ashes is easily one of the best albums of the 2006 if not the best. It may be quickly become my favorite Into Eternity album and if they continue with Stu Block, the band will be able to release plenty more quality albums in the future. The future of metal is bright indeed.
Review written by darkreif for www.metal-archives.com

Stu Block - Vocals
Jim Austin - Drums
Troy Bleich - Bass
Tim Roth - Guitars