When some bands reunite after an extended period of hiatus, it is often driven by several factors. Sometimes it is pure nostalgia and a chance to revisit their old material, and unfortunately sometimes it is purely for monetary gain. However neither of those elements apply to legendary post-hardcore band Into Another, who after nearly 20 years apart are back to not only playing shows again, but have seen their passion reignited enough to create new music.
To some that may seem irrelevant as they may be wary that any new material may not live up to the grandiose stature of Into Another’s 1994 classic ‘Ignaurus’, or may have concern that it may not rock as hard as the bands major label debut ‘Seemless’ from 1995. Thankfully all those preconceived notions can be left at the door as you enter into ‘Omens’. While we will never know what Into Another’s unreleased, and somewhat mythical fourth album ‘Soul Control’ sounded like, ‘Omens’ gives us a pretty good idea, and feels like the band never went away in the first place.
The brooding feedback that builds up the beginning of ‘Crossed’ fits with the bleak feel of the EP as vocalist Richie Birkenhead’s unmistakeable voice begins to cut through the mix. Much like their earlier material the riffs chug along in a similar vein to Life Of Agony before they soar into the chorus, with Birkenhead still sounding note perfect as he hits the higher register. Their sound is still firmly rooted in the mid-90’s with ‘The Fray’ picking up where Into Another left off with ‘Seemless’, and even has shades of Faith No More circa ‘King For Day..’ about it.
Of course with age comes experience, and while Into Another were always one of the more inventive post-hardcore bands from the era, their playing feels even more accomplished than it did back then. The serene ‘Nocturne No.11’ is spine chilling in its delivery with nothing more than softly picked acoustic guitars and Birkenhead showing his fragile side while staying graceful.
It’s not long before the pace is picked up again with the fittingly titled ‘Ominous’ which is huge slice of groove-laden rock, which shines particular light on bassist Reid Black who had big shoes to fill after the tragic passing of original bass play Tony Bono. However Black does Bono proud with his playing, and rather than try to replicate his trademark style, applies his own creative feel to ‘Omens’. The psychedelic leanings of closing track ‘What Went Wrong’ see’s the band venture prog-rock territory as it twists and turns at every given chance, with guitarists Brian Balchack and Peter Moses treading off shredding riffs and delicate intricacies at the blink of an eye.
Given that the members of Into Another had a lot to prove in 1990 after they came together from the ashes of iconic hardcore bands such as Underdog and Bold, it was probably a more difficult task for them to try and live up to their original legacy. With this EP they haven’t topped their legacy, nor have they ruined it. They have simply added to it, and ‘Omens’ deserves to be held in as much high regard as any of their releases. The eleven-pointed star has risen again.
GLEN BUSHELL