Inferus

Looking at the album art I would have guessed that “Inferus” by the Spanish band Neter is located somewhere in the Power/Prog Metal genre.

While I love this style of music as well I was not too disappointed to find out that Neter play Death Metal – in a quite traditional yet brutal and sometimes technical way. Combined with a modern and crisp production peers like Immolation, Nile or Vader came to mind. While I am a big fan of the Swedish style and cannot get enough HM2 material to listen to it is refreshing to discover newer bands following the classic US School as well. In some groovier moments I even recognized some Bolt Thrower influences which can only be a positive aspect in my books.

Not having been familiar with the band I checked out their previous albums “Nec Spe Nec Metu” and “Idols” and the jump in quality they have made on their newest output is impressive. Increasingly rare is the band that can capture the feral nature of death metal and implement great songwriting and interesting ideas without diluting the formula. “Inferus” is the type of album that handles these things with grace and power. Neter don’t shy away from faster, thrashy tempos and complex sections but also implement moody and atmospheric parts. This variety is their greatest asset. The way they weave in some more exotic sounding samples never fails to grab my ear every time I listen to the album. Particularly in the soloing the guys show that they know how to play their instruments, without sacrificing the songwriting. In the end I am a passive fan listening to this kind of music for enjoyment in my free time and not a professional musician who wants to get a lesson taught how to play the most complex arrangements and solos.

The line-up seems to be unchanged compared to “Idols” and the members come across as one single savage unit.

After the piano driven intro “The Chords of Sheol” the first full track “Faceless” is galloping through the speakers in brooding manner. Other songs like “Galvanize” or “Blazing Fallout” penetrate (in a positive way) the listener’s ears with brutal staccato riffing and pounding double-kicks. Manuel Gestoso is not only forming a harmonic partnership with second guitarist Manuel Sanchez but also delivers the trademark barbaric growling roars one had come to expect from that kind of music. Other songs like “The Pillars of Heracles” include some of those slightly exoctic sounds I have been talking about building a nice atmosphere.

Although Neter try their best to give their music an own identity the enjoyment of the record will depend on what you are looking for. In the end “Inferus” is a pretty traditional Death Metal album in the vein of what we all have heard quite a lot of times with just a few minor twists to make things a bit fresher.

However, the quality on display is immense and you can feel the enthusiasm put into the music. Together with the flawless production and the cool artwork everyone looking for another dose of intense and classic Death Metal could do a lot worse than giving Neter a chance.