If at first you don’t succeed, then try, try again …. this is the case here where German metalcore band restarted the process of composing this album. That would have been a hard thing to do, as sitting in judgement of your own work is difficult when you’re in the middle of it, and it kind of goes against the idea that this album was going to have more freedom in its style as clearly more thought has gone into it. But this is an experienced band with seven albums and many live performances in over 20 years so in Neaera we trust.
Concert halls will reverberate to the sound of Neaera. “Antidote to Faith” rumbles through our veins. As if the intensity wasn’t enough, the tempo cranks up. Dark, thrashy and aggressive, it’s impressive. “Pacifier”, as the title does not suggest, is like a furious war march. Rumbling guitars and hard-hitting drums add the menace to this flamboyant and fluid fare. I quickly came to realise that the songs have character, transforming in shape and with it in interest but never letting go of the brutal element. The title song reinforces the brutal element and puts us through the mill. Our German warriors then hit us with the slower and powerful “Swords Unsheathed”. Stylistically there was a little bit of Hypocrisy about the first part, I thought, although as if to prove that Neaera make their own statements, a break leads us into a strong diversion. Backwards and forwards we go in tempo. This didn’t really work for me. I found “Swords Unsheathed” disjointed.
So on it all surges in deathly metally fashion. I cannot fault Neaera for energy. It’s dirty, it’s technical and it’s always aggressive. There’s a suggestion of epic heights in “Edifier” but it’s momentary as Neaera seem intent on sawing through bodies, walls and everything really. I really liked the mounting tension of “In Vain” which followed. “Render Fear Powerless” then returns to the hard-edged melo-death-thrash which is how I would characterise this band’s output. The appeal for me is in the flow and the aggression, but also in the breakdowns which we get here and the murky and controlled darkness which follows. Neaera head into deeper territory for “Dividers” before finally leading us “Into the Hollow”. This means one last rampant attack and a journey through what might be interpreted as tragic territory. The furious assault returns and merges with a depiction of a vast expanse of darkness, showcasing this band’s ability to balance atmospheres and styles in their songs.
Neaera’s music is tight and well controlled. Here on “All Is Dust” is an uncompromising collection of hard-hitting metal songs. I didn’t really feel freedom in them as they so carefully constructed. The twists are in the structure of the songs, which vary in tempo but are without fail full of energy and aggression.
(7.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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