On last year's Hellmouth Rise and Fall showed obvious signs of influence from metallic hardcore acts Integrity, Leeway, and Ringworm. With their new full-length, the Belgian punkmetal outfit have taken that sound and built on it by incorporating more rock and metal aspects to their sound, resulting in a sound that is louder, fuller, and more intense.
"Forked Tongue" serves up blistering fast metallic hardcore complete with a tastefully placed solo. This song and the one that follows pick up where the band left off on their last release. There is some experimentation though. "The Noose," while still rooted in hardcore, has a more punk feel to it. And yet it is still fairly metal as well - it actually reminded me quite a bit of Cursed.
Vocally, Bjorn is a mix of Dwid and Chris Colohan, which makes the musical comparisons to their respective bands a bit more fitting. Lyrically, the subject matter is fairly dark and the majority of the lyrics seem to be directed internally. Though there are the external lyrical attacks on the corrupt, liars, traitors, etc...
For the most part Into Oblivion is a rager of a hardcore record. "Live in Sin" is a prime example of this, as is "The Void," which features a guest spot from Stijn of Reproach - dude sound exactly like Human Furnace - it's uncanny. "Stakes is High" follows this formula as well. There are, however, moments of Bannon-esque vocals interspersed occasionally.
Rise and Fall think outside the proverbial box for their last track "Ruins." Rather than savage riffs and coarse screams, we experience an instrumental of big riffs and placid drumming. The beginning of "Lost among the Lost" is like this as well before it kicks into typical Rise and Fall mid-way through.
There really isn't anything specific about Into Oblivion that I dislike. It would have been nice to have a slightly longer album, but a longer album might have started to get stale towards the end. Into Oblivion is an early contender for the top album spot of 2006.
