The Incurable Tragedy [Slipcase] (CD - 2008)

An album that refuses to curl up in one convenient metal genre box, THE INCURABLE TRAGEDY draws on the entire spectrum to create music that is powerful and dramatic, yet cohesive. The athletic fretwork, twisting leads, and yowling operatic vocals of classic power metal are immediately recognizable on songs like the unstoppable "Tides of Blood," but elsewhere the clean vocals are swapped out for the guttural growls of death as the guitars stiffen up into pummeling riffs. Shifting once again, there is even a trio of soft, elegiac balladry, "The Incurable Tragedy I, II, and III," that builds off of shimmering piano and synthesizer. In the end, all this healthy ecelcticism leads to an indefinable yet propulsive Canadian metal that wails and thrashes in equal measure. minimize