RockRoast

Well, my hopes for a great new album from Into Eternity were veritably murdered by an April 2nd post on their official website.

The band have announced that the title of their upcoming release is The Incurable Tragedy. Earlier, I had expressed interest in their next album because guitarist Tim Roth had described it as a concept album. But it seems the concept will revolve around the cancer-related deaths of several of Roth’s friends and family members.

Poor guy. But cancer isn’t exactly the best subject matter for a concept album. I was hoping for something along the lines of Pink Floyd’s The Wall or Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime. I wanted something with one of those awesome fictional plots. But it appears that Roth’s lyrics will be intensely personal and overwhelmingly depressing. Kind of like his lyrics on the band’s last album, unfortunately.

I suppose only the release of the album will be able to confirm whether I’m right about the concept, but I’m not as optimistic as I was before this news.

Couple that with the release of a demo track from The Incurable Tragedy recently released on the band’s Myspace page and I’m hardly optimistic at all. The song, “Diagnosis Terminal,” sounds like it would have belonged very well on Into Eternity’s previous release, The Scattering of Ashes, in that it is bursting with unused potential.

“Diagnosis Terminal” contains some of the band’s trademark sounds: quick, ill-transitioned time signature changes, mediocre vocals ranging from throaty screams to low growls to clean falsetto, melodies that alternate between flatness and beauty, moments of instrumental brilliance buried between loud solos and hyperactive riffs, and the usual raping of the double-bass pedal. It’s discouraging to hear so many things in one song that are so similar to the mess that was The Scattering of Ashes. I’d hoped to hear some kind of progression, a different direction, or a bit more variety. But “Diagnosis Terminal” is only one song. Hopefully the rest of The Incurable Tragedy will be better.

We can only hope.

Ultima Ratio (2002)
Superior

Superior is a German progressive metal band that has seen very limited exposure outside of their home country. Ultima Ratio is easily the least progressive of their three releases, but it’s also the best.

Ultima Ratio is a concept album, following the journey of two men who start a religion based on rationalism and the mastery of emotion. Over the course of the album, their religion’s massive, worldwide success causes things to spiral out of control, and the two friends, seeing two different problems, plan different, drastic solutions. Complex and riveting, Ultima Ratio’s plot is by far my favorite storyline of any concept album.

The music is ingenious, too—there isn’t a weak song on the entire disc. Superior also maintains a good balance between unbridled aggression and calming beauty. The first song, “Ultra,” shows Superior’s dual-guitar attack at its best and immediately plunges the listener into the story. Later on, “Terror Fantasy” begins with a kind of joint guitar/keyboard riff that blows me away every time. And the final song, “Judgment Day,” is difficult not to sing along with. Throughout the record, Jan Becker’s keyboard work adds considerable depth to the sound. Meanwhile, Michael Tangermann croons, growls, whispers and perfectly matches every kind of feeling the music requires of him.

This is a fun album for Queensryche fans, too. It’s filled with little nuggets that briefly pay homage to Queensryche, especially to Operation: Mindcrime. Ultima Ratio avoids blatant ripoffs, however, and the whole album comes off as a brilliant achievement in musical expression and creativity.