Metal core continues to spread. Germany is now home to one of the genre's rising talents in Neaera. Though coming from these guys it almost feels more like death metal that enjoys syncopated grooves. There is a small deal of the hardcore side of the equation. Slickly production, and well executed, the massive chugs and growled vocals are not the most original thing you have heard. They do care about songwriting and have mainstream metal aspirations as none of the rough edges are what drives their sound. "Pacifer" feels a little more middle-of-the-road than the opener. It is less memorable than when they dig into more death metal grit for the title track. The riff feels darker as does the subject matter. The drummer hammers the point home with machine-like precision.
I guess they started off as a death metal band that has since tried to streamline their sound for today's trends. They certainly lean into speed-driven riffage more like a death metal band. Since last month was our death-metal month here I have certainly heard my fill of it to know. "Swords Unsheathed' finds them riding a wave of thrashing riffs and double bass, that lacks much by way of hard-core, and feels a little more generic. Unless I guess you consider Killswitch Engage to be metalcore then these guys are like a less melodic version of that band, since there are none of the anthemic sung choruses. There are taunter riffs for "Per Aspera" which finds the drums pounding things into place with more technical finesse. 'Edifier' is catchier with the deliberate riffs falling in the right spots to groove to. Though much like other death metal bands they need to be mindful about giving in to their need for speed, and serve the song with the hooky riffs, rather than racing ahead of themselves.
"In Vain" finds them leaning into a more melodic and more deliberate side of their sound. In this place, it is easier to connect the dots to hardcore. The vocals are more of an aggressive shout than a growl. Then we are back to a more Killswitch Engage-like thrashing for "Render Fear Powerless". It's pretty generic. If you are into bands like In Flames you might be more impressed. "Dividers" is not much better. It takes this and applies blast beats to it. They last song reminds me of post-" Heartwork" Carcass. I will give this album a 7.5, well done and well produced, but not very original, Yet there is an audience for it that I am not numbered among, so they are appealing to that demographic.Being Released by Metal Blade.
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