Into Eternity - Dead Or Dreaming
Century Media
Progressive Extreme Metal
10 songs (44:14)
Release year: 2002
Into Eternity, Century Media
Reviewed by Crims

Into Eternity are probably one of the brightest spots in Canadian Metal today and with good reason. Rarely does a band combine such distinct styles of Metal and extreme music and succeed at it, but Into Eternity has succeeded in a big way with Dead Or Dreaming. Some parts progressive metal, some parts Melodic Death, some parts melodic Metal; it all adds up to an interesting listening experience that should appeal to a wide range of tastes.

You’re never really sure what you’re going to get with Dead Or Dreaming for any given song. Into Eternity can change their musical influence with a moments notice and they never cease to amaze me with the skill and execution in which they pull off their brand of Metal. While still mainly an aggressive band, Into Eternity bring to the table a healthy dose of melody in two forms. First of which is the melodic leads that would be more commonly found in a traditional Heavy Metal band or a Melodic Death band. The leads are well played and are consistently catchy and they add a lot of depth to each song. There is even a progressive metal flavor to the leads, mostly due to the drumming and bass in the background. The rhythm section can get surprisingly technical, much like Dream Theater and this works suitably in conjunction with the guitars. The second part of bands melody comes from wonderful clean vocals, which are excellently harmonized at many times throughout the CD. The vocal style is done in the Progressive Metal vein and has very little in common with standard Power Metal vocals, yet they are nevertheless as memorable. The rest of the bands music is a mish-mash of Melodic Death riffs and modern US Death Metal riffs, and as Selling God demonstrates Into Eternity can hold their own with heavy riffing. Meanwhile there are also harsh Death Metal styled vocals that fit the bands style; they’re often doubled with a second vocalist and they have a really strong impact when used and automatically increase the aggression factor of the given song. Occasionally a more hardcore scream is used, which isn’t surprising since there is a touch of hardcore riffing in the bands sound, kind of like what was heard on the last Hatebreed CD. Normally I just have no use for any kind of 'core influence but in the case of Into Eternity it does work because it helps to define the bands sound by making it sound very modern, which in turn may turn off some listeners. The modern approach to the riffs is offset by the traditional approach to the aforementioned leads, and this results in Metal that is engaging and constantly evolving.

As to be expected from a Century Media band the production is good. The production style and sound is somewhere in between standard Death Metal and a modern Melodic Death Metal release. It works well for the band with the rhythm section sounding great, as well as the leads, but I would have preferred a less North American take on the overall guitar sound. The song writing process varies in each song as the influences come and go very fast or sometimes stay awhile. It really depends on the song and Into Eternity never lock themselves into one frame of mind because each song is quite different, however, they do maintain a constant atmosphere and theme throughout Dead Or Dreaming. In a sense the song writing is progressive and while there are not very many long songs, the style of change ups and technical presence is highly influenced by Progressive Metal as are the seldom, but very effectively used keyboards.

Into Eternity have successfully created a sound that perhaps only they can pull off. The melodic aspects and progressive qualities make this CD very listenable over long periods of time. There is a certain quality in the music that allows you to never really get bored of listening to the CD, as it’s easy on the ears yet still challenging and at times very aggressive. I highly recommend to this to fans of more modern Metal that enjoy melody, aggression, and a touch of progression that is skillfully written and technically performed. My only warning is that some people may not like the way the clean vocals are harmonized and the non-traditional approach to the riffing my also turn off some purists or hardcore fans of 80’s Metal. Lastly, look for a new Into Eternity release in February 2004.

Killing Songs :
Absolution Of Soul, Distant Pale Future, Unholy (Fields Of The Dead), Selling God, Dead Or Dreaming, Identity
Crims quoted 88 / 100
Alex quoted 82 / 100
Other albums by Into Eternity that we have reviewed:
Into Eternity - The Incurable Tragedy reviewed by Aleksie and quoted 92 / 100
Into Eternity - The Scattering Of Ashes reviewed by Kayla and quoted 93 / 100
Into Eternity - Buried in Oblivion reviewed by Alex and quoted 90 / 100
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