Neaera - The Rising Tide of Obliveon
Metal Blade Records - 2005
By Adam McAuley
What we have here is an intense and varied take on melodic death metal that has strong shades of hardcore present. The concatenation is usually as vital as a molotov cocktail, but there are the occasional moments of quiet splendour thrown in to add further diversity to the mix. Hyperactive melodic riffing is always present that manages to avoid the generic trappings that often plague the genre because of a very unique sound. Benjamin Hilleke on vocals is one of the great reasons why this is possible, for example. His hardcore bellowings are always energetic, though he is able to descend into the lower registers for death metal-esque growling from time to time. See the third track "Anthem of Despair" for an excellent example of his varied singing.
The song structures are relatively straightforward, but manage to throw in just enough little hooks and changes to remain constantly compelling. An equally stellar production job only adds icing to an already fairly fancy cake. The only complaint I can come up with is that the album isn't particularly mindblowing, but it is somewhat of a standout because it is so different from what you'd typically find in melodic death metal. There are comparisons that can be drawn to the likes of Darkest Hour amongst others, but Naera are able to maintain a fairly distinct sound throughout.
While I certainly doubt it will be the most earth-shattering album released this year, The Rising Tide of Obliveon comes highly recommended to fans looking for something a little different within the typically very narrow frame of melodic death metal. Not being the biggest fan of the genre myself, I can safely say that Neaera were nothing but a pleasant suprise to my ears.
8/10
Official Metal Blade Records Website
Official Neaera Website
Metal Blade Records - 2005
By Adam McAuley
What we have here is an intense and varied take on melodic death metal that has strong shades of hardcore present. The concatenation is usually as vital as a molotov cocktail, but there are the occasional moments of quiet splendour thrown in to add further diversity to the mix. Hyperactive melodic riffing is always present that manages to avoid the generic trappings that often plague the genre because of a very unique sound. Benjamin Hilleke on vocals is one of the great reasons why this is possible, for example. His hardcore bellowings are always energetic, though he is able to descend into the lower registers for death metal-esque growling from time to time. See the third track "Anthem of Despair" for an excellent example of his varied singing.
The song structures are relatively straightforward, but manage to throw in just enough little hooks and changes to remain constantly compelling. An equally stellar production job only adds icing to an already fairly fancy cake. The only complaint I can come up with is that the album isn't particularly mindblowing, but it is somewhat of a standout because it is so different from what you'd typically find in melodic death metal. There are comparisons that can be drawn to the likes of Darkest Hour amongst others, but Naera are able to maintain a fairly distinct sound throughout.
While I certainly doubt it will be the most earth-shattering album released this year, The Rising Tide of Obliveon comes highly recommended to fans looking for something a little different within the typically very narrow frame of melodic death metal. Not being the biggest fan of the genre myself, I can safely say that Neaera were nothing but a pleasant suprise to my ears.
8/10
Official Metal Blade Records Website
Official Neaera Website
