Eternity’s End - Unyielding [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

Angry Metal Guy

I’m super proud ov¹ my patience on this one. I discovered Eternity’s End with the release of their debut The Fire Within back in 2016, and I was completely blown away by their thrashy brand of neoclassical progressive power metal. That record is certainly in my top 10 of the 2010s, and I was ecstatic when I heard a follow-up was imminent. While it was released in certain markets in the finals days of December 2018, sophomore effort Unyielding officially hit the shelves and hard drives in March of this year, and I stared longingly into the promo bin for its arrival. Alas, it never came, so I vowed to cover it in this manner come eternity’s year’s end. Consider my vow fulfilled.

Lineup changes between albums have forged the band into a bonafide supergroup and veritable Who’s Who of technically proficient musicians. Founding guitarist Christian Münzner (Obscura, Alkaloid, Necrophagist), drummer Hannes Grossmann (Alkaloid, Hate Eternal, Obscura, every metal band), and keyboardist Jimmy Pitts (Equipoise) have been joined by bassist Mike LePond (Symphony X), guitarist Phil Tougas (Chthe’ilist, Funebrarum), and singer Iuri Sanson (Hibria). Loaded with this much talent, it would be easy for Eternity’s End to devolve into a complete wankfest, but their cohesion and focus on creating beautifully powerful and memorable songs prevent that from happening. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s not much restraint to be found here—aside from one ballad, Unyielding is rather, uh, unyielding—but the speed and technicality always come second to the songcraft.

Unyielding by Eternity’s End

Ah, the songs. Unyielding dials back the thrash aggression and dark literature themes of The Fire Within to weave a fantasy/sci-fi tale in soaring Euro-power/speed metal fashion. While I absolutely loved the debut, I have no complaints with the results of this transition. The diversity of style among the album’s ten tracks is astounding, and it makes the 50-minute runtime fly by. There’s the driving speed metal of “Blood Brothers (The Oath),” the fantastic ballad “Horizonless,” the death metal riffing of “Necromantic Worship,” and the Symphony X “Seven”-ish neoclassical orgasm² of “Under Crimson Moonlight.” All of it slays, and when combined with Sanson’s smooth yet potent voice and Münzner’s choral harmonies, it results in Unyielding being one of my top few favorite power metal records of the year.

As a power metal band with deep roots in technical death metal, I see Eternity’s End as the spiritual successors to Chuck Schuldiner’s project Control Denied. Unyielding should appeal to fans of bands like Symphony X and Lost Horizon, and because of the quality of the songs, the blistering musicianship, and the familiar cast of characters, I’d even recommend this to non-power fans. And while you’re at it, check out The Fire Within as well. Eternity’s End is one of the most exciting prog/power bands in this post-Nevermore, dormant-Symphony X world, and I can’t wait to get my ears all over whatever they do next.

Tracks That Extend My Laser Sword: “Unyielding,” “Under Crimson Moonlight,” and “Necromantic Worship”

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