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The Sirens
"Being a resident of the Canadian prairies, there’s just not a whole lot to be proud of when it comes to our music scene. When you think about the amount of quality bands coming out of provinces such as Quebec, or British Columbia, the centre of the country is comparatively, a musical black hole. There are however, some bands that I am proud to say come from my local region. One of such bands is Into Eternity.
This album is the first significant move by the band in quite a while. They experienced a small ‘Golden Age’ with the release of such albums as ‘The scattering of Ashes’ and ‘the incurable tragedy’. Since then however, after a serious string of tragic events that lead to the loss of several band members, the band went quiet. Now, after vocalist extraordinaire Stu Block was replaced by the formidable Amanda Kiernan (also: The Order of Chaos), and Justin Bender was replaced by guitarist Matt Cuthbertson (Untimely Demise), Into Eternity is back with a new breath of life.
Into Eternity have always been brought their own blend of melodic, progressive and power metal that can’t much be associated with any other band. The Sirens does not deviate in this trend. Even though half the lineup is different, they still bring much of the chemistry that they found with previous albums. It’s an album that’s sure to satisfy those fans that have waited so patiently for the next chapter in the bands book.
The most notable aspect of this album is Kiernan’s vocals. The only way I can describe them really is, glorious. Her cleans are beautiful and set and convey a strong sense of emotion, they range from deep and dark to soaring highs and she hits everything in between. Aside from the clean vocals, there’s an equal amount of growling to offset the melody with a healthy injection of aggression. Amanda’s growls aren’t lacking by any means either, the vocal range she displays throughout the album really is impressive. My favourite tracks regarding vocals were “This Frozen Hell”, “Nowhere Near”, and “Fukushima”. After the loss of such a vocalist as Stu Block, Amanda shows herself to be a more than capable replacement with her performance on this album.
Aside from vocals, that album is lush with virtuoso musicianship. The progressive lead guitar playing is prevalent throughout every track. For any shred fan this album will get your fingers moving and you’ll be itching to get practicing after being exposed to a handful of the guitar solos that litter the album.
Beyond the blistering guitar solos and memorizing vocals, the rhythm section is a beast in its own right. The riffs jump seamlessly between dense, high paced death metal grooves to Iron Maiden-esque melodies without missing a beat. The drums are hard and in your face throughout. In fact, at some points I found them almost too in your face, there’s just something about the kick tone that kinda gives me a bit of a headache. Another plus is that the bass is very apparent and seems less so be affected by the all too common issue of melting into everything else.
To sum things up, The Sirens is an enjoyable album and a promising return. The standout tracks are ‘Fringes of Psychosis’, ’Nowhere Near’, and ‘Fukushima’. But despite the albums strengths, it does have its weaknesses. The main one being that ‘Sandstorm’ and ‘Devoured by Sarcopenia’ just aren’t particularly memorable. On top of that the songs can blend together a bit too much, there needs to be a bit more variation in between songs. But for any melodic death metal fan, this album will be sure to please, and for any fan of Into Eternity, this album is worth being excited for." - Metal Utopia