Into Another
Ignaurus

"I wish I had wings, you'd all look so funny down there"

Revelation has always released excellent musical material. In the years of the "hardcore fury," the New York label sought to provide a different perspective from the HC/Punk canon, offering records from bands that were indissolubly linked to the hardcore context but with a musical approach that diverged from it (and, in some cases, quite significantly).

This is the case with Into Another who, in a handful of years and with four releases, tried to propose an evolution of the so-called "youth crew" sound. The album in question, from 1994, is an excellent example of this attempt at evolution: the musical part becomes slower compared to the traditional HC pace, while Richie Birkenhead's voice (formerly of Underdog) dismantles the dictates of the New York screamers and merges with a singing style strongly influenced by (even!) classic Maiden-Metal in a unique intersection of Emo sensitivity (here we're talking about what emo-core really was, not the nonsense circulating today) and metal epicness. Birkenhead's voice lashes out over sustained electric fabrics ("Poison Finger", very "progressive" in attitude but impactful and perhaps the best of the lot) or, in other songs like "Two Snowflakes" and the closing "Anxious", it rests on delicate and atmospheric acoustic patterns. Along with these clear influences, listening to "Ignaurus" also reveals an underlying Blues vein, especially in the acoustic parts, which gives the compositions a very sad and reflective tone (if you read the lyrics, which are divided among elegies for deceased friends, murders at sea, frustration, and fallen war heroes, this impression is confirmed).
Along with the unique voice, the great bass work of Tony Bono (unfortunately passed away a few years ago) is prominently featured on the album, whether it remains more connected to the rock form (as in the excellent start of "Running Into Walls") or deftly navigates the diversity of the proposal, often venturing into almost funky parts.

Into Another is therefore an indefinable musical entity that ranges without ever getting stuck in easy labels between punk, blues, metal, and melodic rock, even within the same track (as in the aforementioned "Running into Walls"). This heterogeneity can be both a strength and, especially for the "purists" of the mentioned genres, a downside, as well as the peculiar singing of the frontman, which, at times, may be somewhat cloying.
Personally, I believe this album represents a sort of milestone in that type of "emo" music, in the purest and most original sense of the term ("emotional") and that it marked a part of that particular American music (late 80s, early 90s) that connects HC, Noise, and Emo-core (to give coordinates from Revelation to Dischord and everything in between).