Let the Tempest Come (CD - 2006)

In the early 2000s, Metal Blade put out quite a few CDs that had some type of hardcore influence. Some were regular metalcore, some were in the mathcore/math metal vein, some were relevant to screamo/post-hardcore -- and all of those styles have been hardcore-influenced even though they aren't hardcore in the old-school sense. The fact that Metal Blade was so receptive to hardcore-influenced bands may explain why some reviewers have described Neaera's second album, Let the Tempest Come, as straight-up metalcore (that, and the fact that they look and dress like a hardcore band). But those reviews were misleading because Neaera -- a German unit with a strong Scandinavian influence -- do not sound like Hatebreed, Throwdown, or Brick Bath (three examples of bands that have provided straight-up metalcore). Truth be told, Let the Tempest Come is -- above all else -- a Nordic-style death metal effort. On this January 2006 recording, lead singer/frontman Benny Hilleke fluctuates between two extreme vocal styles; one is a deep, guttural death metal growl, and the other is a high-pitched assault that is somewhere between a black metal rasp and a tortured metalcore/hardcore scream. The occasional use of black metal-style blastbeats is also noteworthy. But if Neaera had removed those occasional blastbeats and Hilleke had opted to sing with a growl exclusively, there would have been no question that Let the Tempest Come was anything other than a thrashy album of Swedish-influenced death metal. The songs themselves are structured in a death metal-oriented fashion, and the guitar riffing is very mindful of Nordic death metal combos. Although not as extreme as some death metal, Let the Tempest Come still packs a brutal punch -- and while this 50-minute CD isn't remarkable, it is a decent example of Neaera's ability to acknowledge metalcore, hardcore and black metal while being a Scandinavian-minded death metal band first and foremost. ~ Alex Henderson minimize