If your knowledge of German metal begins at the Scorpions and ends at Rammstein, you are clearly missing out on a metal scene that is growing by leaps and bounds. The recent success of Caliban has enabled other German metallers to stand up and get their due. Muenster-based Neaera just threw down the gauntlet for the rest of the scene with their new platter Let The Tempest Come (Metal Blade)

Neaera was formed by guitarist Tobias Buck in 2003 as a side project from his death metal outfit Malzan. Apparently Tobias wasn't satisfying his Swedish Metal jones enough. Buck and company have certainly jammed enough Swedish metal riffage and song structure into this disc to make you wonder if this isn't the second coming of At The Gates. But these guys have deftly added an element not often heard (or done well) in metalcore- shades of death metal, thanks to the growling talents of vocalist Benny Hilleke.

The album opens at a breakneck pace with "Mechanisms of Standstill", but the first 3 tracks really just get you primed for what the middle of this disc has to offer. "God-Forsaken Soil", "Heavenhell", "Desecrators" and "The Crimson Void" (my favorite track on the record), show how this band is able to mesh the influences of bands like At The Gates, Six Feet Under and, at times Entombed, and put out a refreshingly crushing record. If any of these bands even remotely appeal to you, Neaera should be the next addition to your collection.