History & Biography Drummer Gossman, who proceeded to record all instruments on his own, formed Florida, USA-based technical crossover band Into The Moat in 2001. After recruiting a line-up, Wray moved from bass to guitar and the band recorded a MCD for Lovelost Records called Means By Which The End Is Justified.
Into The Moat signed to Metal Blade in 2004. Shows with Soilent Green were cut short when first Thiel and then Shaffer became unavailable. Shows with Cephalic Carnage and The Black Dahlia Murder went ahead several months later. Thiel officially left the band in late 2005. A second album featured a newer bassist. The band split up and left its Metal Blade contract unfulfilled.
Reviews INTO THE MOAT - THE DESIGN - METAL BLADE
Florida’s Into The Moat is another of the many recent signings from Metal Blade featuring members with short hairs. Musically, this full-length debut also follows a similar path to the others. Originally the one-man band of drummer Matthew Gossman, it has evolved into a five-piece playing a very technical and sometimes thrashy heavy metal. The eight songs and one intro of The Design take many twists and turns that take the listener from Dillinger Escape Plan to As I Lay Dying and Mastodon and even some Brutal Truth. The now-typical but always odd sudden tempo changes and acoustic breaks are also a major part of The Design. Of particular note is the second half of the closing song, Prologue, which adds an ambient feel more suited to a horror movie. The musicianship is competent and the vocals of Earl Ruwell IV switch between the familiar shouts and growls typical of many of the aforementioned bands. The production, courtesy of Erik Rutan, certainly helps in delivering the power of Into The Moat. - Anna Tergel
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