Into Another - Ignaurus (1994)

This is by far the best album Into Another has released. The first album (self-titled) was awesome. Pure metal in the vein of Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden but with a much heavier groove going. The EP (Creepy Eepy) was amazing, lending a little more seriousness to the vocals but still a pure power metal record complete with a ballad about a dead friend. But who knew they would arrive here, at Ignaurus, with such creativity and such beauty all wrapped up in slick progressive metal and blues, with touches of post hardcore and punk? With such wonderful, poetic lyrics about frustration, dying, the hidden evils of religion, dead war heroes, maritime murders, ghost pirates and fear of identity?

To this day, this is easily one of the most inventive pieces of music I have heard. It is still metal, but it is heavily blues based, and the guitars are heavy, but in a different way. They steamroll instead of crunch. And Richies voice has gotten even better (So have his lyrics) There is nothing too toungue in cheek about this release, save maybe the acoustic "Two Snowflakes" which is about losing someone dear to you. But even that is still a great song in all its cheesy glory. The opener "Running Into Walls" is by far one of my favorite songs ever. I feel awkward even describing it, as it is not so metal, and it is not all that heavy, but it gives you a punch in the gut, and then makes you feel all flowery. "Poison Fingers" may be the heaviest point on this record, but dips in and out of various prog-like passages incorporating heavy riffs mingled with bluesy solos and some amazing bass work from Tony Bono (R.I.P.) And Richie keeps that voice rising up and down throughout, occasionally giving a thrusting grunt to punctuate a tense moment, and then its free and flowing again. "Maritime Murder" is a great song about a guy who was thrown off a boat at sea and comes back to haunt his detractors...wonderful imagery of sinking and the music grows to an almost tribal beat as the song closes. "William" starts off acoustically, very pretty, and details the story of a dead war hero and his memories. The chorus is great, and the songs ends with some good riffing. "Anxious" is a great close to one of the most unique metal and hardcore records around. It is sung from the perspective of someone who wishes they were a different creature, something not so human, so they could hide away. The lyrics are great, "I wish I had wings, you'd all look so funny down there"

Overall, this my not be a very good review of this album. It is very hard to put into words, and the only way to know is to just pick it up, like I did. If you are familiar with their older work, there is a very good chance you will love this record. And if you are familiar with Seemless, their final record, then you will definitely enjoy this one....You can always go to Revelation Records to purchase this and their other albums and if you are into this one I strongly reccomend picking up the Creepy Eepy...(There is a rumour they may reform for another record, but that is just a rumour. ^_~)