Means By Which the

Into The Moat's sophmore album "The Design" is a superb album from talented musicians consistently challenging themselves to write music without boundaries. "The Means..." is a record that captures that fledgling talent shortly before it reached its fruition. This records purpose can be likened to that of a bridge: it lead ITM to write an excellent record in "The Design," but they couldn't have written that record had they not released "The Means By Which The End Is Justified."Probably the most amazing thing about this release is that, at the time this was recorded, all the members of ITM we around the ages of eighteen and nineteen! This record showcases talented musicians playing well beyond their years! And while this record is not quite as chaotic as their full-length release was, it definitely shows promise!While Into The Moat are a technical metal band, due to the production level, this album is not quite as heavy in overall sound. That is not to say that the production level is sub-par, it just lacks the clarity of their full-length Metal Blade release "The Design." With six songs clocking in just under twenty minutes, this record is more like an ep and is finished seemingly just as soon as it begun!The instrumentation is executed well, though it is not quite as technical as "The Design," with fewer odd time signatures and tempo changes. True to ITM's style, their overall sound strays away from the muddy, bass-heavy sound you find in many death-metal bands today. The guitar's actually sound higher in pitch than would be expected of a metal band, with a medium to medium-high pitch. There are a few moments throughout the record where the music can sound somewhat muddled, but this is due less to ITM's playing as it is to the production level of the record. Despite this, all the instruments can, most of the time, be clearly heard within the mix."The Means By Which The End Is Justified" is a definite must have for every Into The Moat fan, and the fan of technical metal who doesn't mind production levels which are not quite top-notch. I encourage anyone who may read this to check out Into The Moat's full-length Metal Blade release "The Design," as it is a technical metal masterpiece!