NEAERA – LET THE TEMPEST COME – METAL BLADE  
Let The Tempest Come is apparently the German band’s second album. Never having even heard of the band before being handed this by the Metallian Knights a comparison cannot be forthcoming. Instead, the band can be reviewed as a mix of the much maligned crossover sound and the Gothenburg scene. Should that mean the band is ¾ Gothenburg sounding so be it, although the band’s biggest challenge will not change. That is, despite the tight musicianship, solid production and aggressive delivery the whole affair comes across as a tad bland and somehow unoriginal. There are not many riffs here that could be called original, the band’s own or innovative. In and of itself that should not matter for the band is thrashing hard in absolute terms, yet the nagging feeling is there nonetheless. It is not until the end of the album, the slow instrumental Life Damages The Living and the album’s closer Scars Of Gray that the quartet tries a different tone or a different sound. At least, these examples prove the band has a knack for cool song titles. Paradigm Lost is another good example. – Anna Tergel