Neaera - Let The Tempest Come
- Released: 2006
- Label: Metal Blade Records
- Rating:
You know, melodic death metal bands are a dime a dozen these days. You can literally open your door, throw your shoe at any random person, and chances are that person is in a death metal band. I have heard so much melodic death metal in my days that it only makes sense that the sound has become stale. It takes a lot for a melodic death metal band to impress me these days and regrettably, Neaera’s new album just doesn’t have what it takes to knock my socks off.
Doing a little research, I have learned that Neaera has released an album before, called Rising Tides Of Oblivion. It has a cool little title, but I haven’t heard it. Therefore, I can’t tell you if Neaera has changed their sound or not, so this review will be a stand-alone.
I must say though, I love how this album opens. No soft keyboard intro, no spoken word, we just get right into a hard riff that slams right into your face. I like Neaera’s sound on this album – it’s very passionate and jam-packed full of energy. You can tell throughout this album that these guys really have a love for what they do and my respect goes out to these guys for that. The playing is extremely tight with some great drumming and some awesome blast-beats that are done every once in awhile. It’s total wizardry – as are the few solos to be found on the album.
Their songwriting is exceptional too, perfectly balancing melody and brutality and bringing it together into perfect sync. Their influences are shown up front though. I detect Amon Amarth and, of course, In Flames. Also, there’s a massive hardcore feel throughout the album, which some people may enjoy, but it only detracts the experience for me. It’s clear some riffs have a “Killswitch” groove to them and in case you’re wondering, yes, they do have a few god awful breakdowns on the album that breaks the flow of the album. Neaera are mainly on the death metal side of the spectrum though and it’s when they stick to this style on the album that I enjoy them most.
The vocals are somewhat original. Benny Hilleki’s voice seems capable of doing two vocal styles and he handles them quite well. For most of the album, he uses the traditional high-pitched shriek but often he goes into a deep growl that is almost spoken word. I would have liked to hear more variety in the growl as every time he uses it, he uses it in the same exact style. Hardcore screams are found throughout the album, which I could have done without, but I’ll admit that they’re good. There’s a lot more emotion found in his screams than in any other screamers voice so I can respect them.
The lyrics could be amazing for some and a problem for others. They mainly revolve around political and personal issues which is a winner in my book. What isn’t a winner, however, is how incredibly cryptic they are. They are very hard to understand and decipher and I wouldn’t even know what the songs were about if I hadn’t looked them up on the internet. Thinkers may enjoy deciphering the lyrics and coming up with a meaning to them but there’s a time and place for everything, when I listen to this CD, I want to rock out, not reflect on the complexity of the lyrics. Also, I have a small idea that they were written cryptic unintentionally! I believe this has to do with Tobias’s misunderstanding of the English language which, if this is true, people trying to decipher the lyrics are basically doing it for nothing.
Stand-out tracks include the incredibly groove-oriented “Heavenhell” that breaks in and out of death and grind like it’s nobody’s business. The riffing alone on this track makes me want to pull out pistols and begin shooting at fucking Bob Barker look-alikes. “God-Forsaken Soil” shows tremendous At The Gates influence and totally owns. It would own even more it if weren’t for that damn breakdown. Lastly, the title track has a terrific solo that’s totally worth hearing.
The production is very well done and my hat goes off to whoever mixed this album. Everything sounds so crystal clear and comes together perfectly, nothing is over-powered by any instrument and each note played is heard loudly and strongly but upon further listening, I find that at times there’s a small scratching noise in the background, I admit this could be just me but this must be addressed.
But what it all boils down to in the end is originality. It’s not doing anything creative enough to make it a memorable experience. I’ve heard countless other albums like this and it just got boring for me near the end. All the songs started running together until finally they all started to sound the same. Neaera has potential to release a killer album – this I know. I just think that if they lost the hardcore vibe and tweaked their sound a little, they’ll come out with something amazing. I suppose anyone else would enjoy this slightly more than me so if you’re looking for something to fill that gap in your core or death collection, Let The Tempest Come wouldn’t hurt. Just don’t expect anything monumental.
Brent C. | 06/21/2006