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