“Nero Doctrine have everything it takes to make it big if they continue down this path.”
German metalcore outfit Nero Doctrine strike back with the Daughter Of The Sea EP, eight years after their debut album II – Interitus. This new offering shows a band that sounds more focused than before, perhaps due to a line-up change that seems to have affected them for the better. The band have always played a mélange of metalcore with progressive elements in a very visceral way, sometimes resembling deathcore, other times djent, but it is somewhat disheartening to hear a few good things here and there and then notice significant issues. It all starts with the band’s musicianship, which has highs and lows. While every member is fairly proficient at what he or she does, there are some inconsistencies that do need to be addressed.
The lead guitar work is interesting and quite above average. There are some very good solo ideas, but they come crumbling down when you listen and think they could have been practised and sharpened on some tunes, such as “The Premonition”, to make them stand out, much like they do on “Of Moon and Waters”, which boasts a world-class guitar solo. Both the bass and drum work are Swiss clockwork, dependable and exquisite, and the overall idea one gets is that Nero Doctrine, sick name by the way, have everything it takes to make it big if they continue down this path, writing their own history instead of mimicking other bands. So far, so good. Or is it? If there is one thing most aspiring bands overlook, and which ends up leaving a bad impression, it is bad mixing and mastering. Such is the case here.
The bass and drums are sometimes way too high in the mix, not just a bit high, more like boat high. While we loved hearing the frantic and flawless blastbeats in “The Premonition”, the volume is too high. The same goes for both instruments in parts of “Eight Billion Insects” and “Of Moon and Waters”, to the point where they smother the guitar, before the guitar then smothers both other sounds in the same track. While the overall mixing and mastering work is acceptable, it makes no sense for a band like Nero Doctrine not to put their work in the hands of a mixing/mastering specialist, especially when Daughter Of The Sea seems to be a probe testing the waters. This is not the band’s first rodeo, and the album could have received a better mark if the production had been better taken care of.
Daughter Of The Sea is a solid slab of modern extreme metal that can certainly be a stairway towards greener pastures for Nero Doctrine. A bit more practice, more band think tanks, better professional production, and a little more of the self-confidence that the band already shows naturally, and we are sure things will start happening for Nero Doctrine.
