Into Eternity - The Incurable Tragedy Review

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 09.03.2008

The Incurable Tragedy is Canadian progressive metal Into Eternity's first concept album. Dealing with the loss of loved ones to cancer, The Incurable Tragedy tells a dark tale. Will the average metal fan want to embark on this somber journey?

The Band

Stu Block-Vocals
Tim Roth-Guitar, Vocals
Justin Bender-Guitar
Troy Bleich-Bass, Vocals
Steve Bolognese-Drums


The Track Listing

1. Prelude To Woe-.55
2. Tides Of Blood-3:46
3. Spent Years Of Regret-4:15
4. Symptons-1:48
5. Diagnosis Terminal-3:31
6. The Incurable Tragedy I (September 21st, 2006)-2:49
7. Indignation-3:58
8. Time Immemorial-4:15
9. The Incurable Tragedy II (November 10th, 2006)-3:37
10. A Black Light Ending-3:33
11. One Funeral Hymn For Three-4:10
12. The Incurable Tragedy III (December 15th, 2006)-2:20





The Review

Losing a loved one to a terminally illness can be a traumatic and disheartening experience. For guitarist Tim Roth, it was much more than that, as Roth lost two close friends and his father to cancer within a three month period. This tragic time period was the influence behind The Incurable Tragedy, Canadian progressive death metal band Into Eternity’s fifth studio, and first concept, album. Set behind the story of a man finding out he has cancer and living out his last days with the illness, The Incurable Tragedy is the biggest departure for the band yet, with the three vocalists relying more on clean vocals than ever before, and the band’s harsh sound toned down a bit.

Long-time fans may be disappointed with my previous statement, but Into Eternity uses a melodic sound to their advantage, controlling their aggressive side to let it out in short bursts, when it is necessary in the story. After a brief, yet beautiful, opening acoustic instrumental, the band goes full throttle with “Tides of Blood” and “Spent Years Of Regret.”

The aggression brought out in the first two tracks is more the exception than the rule. Sure, the album has its heavy moments throughout, but none reach the intensity of the early tracks. “Diagnosis Terminal” is the only exception, which could have been on Buried In Oblivion, arguably their finest hour. The other tracks range in quality, with “Time Immermorial” and “A Black Light Ending,” with the former balancing gentle acoustic melodies with brutal metal and the latter featuring the highest vocals on the album, with Block utilizing an operatic range.

The best moment in the album is the three part “The Incurable Tragedy.” The first part is a piano ballad, with emotional vocals by all three vocalists, especially Roth. My only complaint is that Block overdoes the high vocals he is well-regarded for, which takes away from the dark atmosphere carried out by the rest of the band members. The second part is an acoustic track, with some classical-style playing by Roth, and better vocals by Block, who keeps the theatrics to a minimum. The third part is a short instrumental, ending the album on a low-key, and surprisingly anti-climatic, note.

The album flies by, which is both to its advantage and disadvantage. While the collection of tracks is strong as a whole, when broken up individually, the impact of the concept starts to wear off. There are three instrumentals (“Prelude to Woe,” “Symptoms,” “The Incurable Tragedy III”) which, in my mind, is one too many. I would have eliminated “Symptoms,” as it sounded like the band took a few left-over riffs and combined them to form a half-assed song. The 38 minute running length is way too short, especially for a concept album, and The Incurable Tragedy never seems to reach a higher gear.

Even with the suspect songwriting, the band is as technically sound as they ever had. Block’s vocal range is vast and he uses it to the fullest extent, yet goes over-the-top several times, especially in the more emotional moments on the album. Backing Block on vocals are the long-standing duo of Roth and Bleich, who provide a solid base for Block to work off from. I was especially impressed with Bleich’s death vocals, which had an evil quality to them reminiscent of Vital Remains’ guitarist/vocalist Dave Suzuki.

The guitar work is phenomenal, with Roth and Bender playing well off each other. The acoustic guitars are more present than in Into Eternity’s last effort, 2006’s The Scattering Of Ashes, a welcome addition to the somber affairs. Bleich and new-comer Bolognese are a solid rhythm section, with Bolognese impressing with his complex time signature changes and progressive tendencies.

A final mention has to be made to the production of The Incurable Tragedy, which is greatly improved over The Scattering Of Ashes. Their last album suffered from poor drum production, which made the bass drums, obviously triggered, too up front in the mix. This made the album have this constant clicking sound that distracted from the rest of the instruments. That mistake has been fixed and makes the rest of the album sound much better.

The Incurable Tragedy is a complex, somewhat difficult, album to listen to. Roth lets the music be his way to release all the pain and anguish from losing three people close to him, yet the album as a whole lacked that extra step to elevate the album to a whole other level. The short running length is disappointing, as is the over-usage of instrumentals and overblown vocals from Block at the most impactful moments of the album. There are several great tracks on The Incurable Tragedy, with “Diagnosis Terminal” and the three part title track being the immediate standouts. Judging the album as a whole, the concept doesn’t hold up well, but the songs are there and the emotional meter is high for the entire album. This helps to elevate The Incurable Tragedy to an above average experience for Into Eternity fans.

The 411: The Incurable Tragedy is Into Eternity at their most vunerable and personal, but that doesn't automatically equal a great album. The concept is interesting and the songs are solid, but the whole package is lesser than the sum of its parts. Having 1/4 of the album instrumentals was a poor choice and the vocals are occasionally over-dramatic. If The Incurable Tragedy was longer, or if they replaced the unnecessary "Symptoms" with a song of considerable substance, the album could have been something special. Instead, its a good Into Eternity album, but won't be mentioned alongside their magnum opus Buried In Oblivion.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]