Neaera - Let The Tempest Come Review
by Matt Hensch
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After coming out with their successful debut The Rising Tide Of Oblivion, Neaera has put out another decent record called Let The Tempest Come. Despite being named after a whore, Neaera really pours a tremendous amount of brutality and melody into their music. "Let The Tempest Come" is a prime example of what Neaera is all about.
"Mechanisms Of Standstill" begins with a thrash riff that soon breaks into Benjamin Hilleke's shrieks and a storm of blast beats. The riffing moves into a more melodic yet technical sound, while Hilleke is mixing up his vocal show with screams and death growls. The only real bummer on this song is the solo which is short and bland, but beside that, "Mechanisms Of Standtill" still delivers a power punch.
"Let The Tempest Come" is also a solid track. The riffing is once again complex, and Hilleke's vocals are loud and powerful. Everything is going fine and it simply dies with a breakdown. As soon as that abomination is over, the riffing picks up again into the mix of brutality and melody. The solo here is more technical and faster then on the previous track, which is always a plus. Beside the breakdown, "Let The Tempest Come" is still crushing and brutal.
"Plagueheritage" is no let down from the mayhem. Hilleke's vocals are once again a powerful force of screams and growls, which are filled with a massive amount of energy and power. Sebastian Heldt comes off great as he rapidly nails his snare. His double bass action is lightning fast as well. The riffing is turbo and heavy, but still there remains a sense of grandeur and melody.
When "God Forsaken Soil" starts it begins to sink in that this sound is getting really old. The riffing sounds almost identical with "Plagueheritage" and its certainly nothing new from the rest of the album. Hilleke's seems to be the only one pulling his weight as he switches between screams and growls at an inhuman rate. Thankfully, Kevin Otto and Jacob Bredahl add some damn good guests vocals. They both sound almost identical to Obituary front man John Tardy, which is interesting and really saves this song from being a complete disaster.
Finally, we have something different. "Heavenhell" is an atmospheric hybrid ballad that really is one of the standouts here. The depressing guitar tone dulls the senses until the rest of the band explodes into a mid-paced riff. The riffing also sounds very different from all the other past songs, but is still fast and melodic. Hilleke's shrieks and growls are very loud and impressive, which is really no surprise. The leads here are great as guitarists Tobias Buck and Stefan Keller complement each other perfectly with great dueling riffs and solos. An outstanding track.
"Desecrators" is up next, and its just as good as "Heavenhell." "Desecrators" starts off with a solo, which isn't bad by any means. The riffing here is more thrash influenced that anything, which really makes the song exciting. Neaera also experiments with some hardcore influences, which really fit in here as well. Heldt's drumming is crazy and twisted as he bashes his drum set while double bassing extremely fast.
"The Crimson Void" opens with a bizarre drum intro that moves into the even crazier melodic riffing. The musicianship is overall very well done. The riffing is technical and diverse, the drumming is insane and the vocal work is perfect. Another great song.
We begin to run into trouble once again here as the recycled riffing comes back into play. "I Love The World" is filled with riffing that is almost the same as other songs on the album. The vocal work is also having many similar moments. "I Love The World" can simply be classified as one simple work: filler.
"Paradigm Lost" is thankfully a step away from the previous filler. It's clear the riffing is not as melodic as before and the riffs have moved into a more death metal direction. The vocal work is also packed in with many more death growls then the other songs. The leads hear are much more technical then on the other songs. "Paradigm Lost" is really a taking the album in a better direction then before. If only the rest of the album could sound like this!
And when everything seems fine, we have something like this. "Life Damages The Living" is two minutes of the same boring riff repeating again and again. There is a solo, but it doesn't do much here. Way too repetitive and way too boring.
To close the album, we have the epic "Scars Of Grey." Hilleke shakes up the madness with his soaring screams and his deathly growls as Buck and Kellar add riffs that just as brutal as they are melodic. The drumming is also amazing as Heldt gives off sonic speed blast beats mixed with his swift double bassing. Very solid and very heavy.
I was really surprised by this album. Let The Tempest Come is damn good record. Despite having some dull moments and that annoying filler, this record is not bad by any means. Let The Tempest Come is forceful, well done and exciting.
CD Info and Links
Neaera - Let The Tempest Come Label:Metal Blade
Rating:7.5
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